Apparatus and method in wireless communication system, and computer readable storage medium

ABSTRACT

Disclosed in the present application are an apparatus and method in a wireless communication system, and a computer readable storage medium. The apparatus comprises a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to determine one or more height thresholds for a user equipment according to at least one of base station-related information, cell-related information and user equipment-related information. According to at least one aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a proper height threshold is set for a communication scenario of an unmanned aerial vehicle, which helps to resolve and alleviate various problems that may exist in the communication scenario of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

The present application is based on PCT filing PCT/CN2018/099408, filedAug. 8, 2018, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No.201710686365.8, filed Aug. 11, 2017 with the Chinese Patent Office, eachof which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of wirelesscommunications, and in particular to an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)communication technology based on long term evolution (LTE).

BACKGROUND

Nowadays, there are increasing interests in using unmanned aerialvehicles (UAVs) in a cellular network. The UAVs are increasingly used inmany commercial application scenarios, such as application scenarios ofsearch and rescue, critical infrastructure monitoring, wildlifeprotection, flight cameras, and surveillance, which may develop rapidlyin the future few years. With distribution of the existing LTE networks,the UAVs may be well served. Therefore, if the UAVs are connected tocurrent LTE networks, it will definitely enhance the application of theUAVs in those scenarios.

However, the UAV is different from an ordinary user equipment (UE) onthe ground For example, a flight height and a flight speed of the UAVare much greater than those of the ordinary UE on the ground. In a casethat the flight height of the UAV is relatively low (relative to that ofa base station), the UAV may be regarded as an ordinary UE. However, ina case that the flight height of the UAV is relatively high (forexample, higher than that of the base station), uplink signals from theUAV may be received by more cells due to the line-of-sight (LoS). Inthis case, the uplink signals from the UAV may be regarded asinterference signals for cells other than a serving cell of the UAV,which may affect normal communication of devices, such as UEs andInternet of Things (IoT), in these cells. Therefore, there is an urgentneed to enhance the LTE-based UAV communication.

SUMMARY

A brief summary of the present disclosure is given hereinafter, so as toprovide basic understanding in some aspects of the present disclosure.However, it is to be understood that this summary is not an exhaustiveoverview of the present disclosure. It is neither intended to identifykey or critical parts of the present disclosure, nor intended to definethe scope of the present disclosure. It merely functions to present someconcepts of the present disclosure in a simplified form to be used as aprelude to a more detailed description stated later.

In view of this, an object of at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide a scheme for determining, configuring, andupdating one or more height thresholds for UAV communications, withwhich the LTE-based UAV communications can be served well.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a device in a wirelesscommunication system is provided. The device includes processingcircuitry configured to: determine, based on at least one of basestation related information, cell related information and user equipmentrelated information, one or more height thresholds for a user equipment.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a device in awireless communication system is provided. The device includesprocessing circuitry configured to: acquire, based on configurationinformation from a base station, one or more height thresholds for auser equipment in which the device is located. The one or more heightthresholds are determined by the base station based on at least one ofbase station related information, cell related information and userequipment related information.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a device in awireless communication system is provided. The device includesprocessing circuitry configured to: acquire one or more heightthresholds for a user equipment in which the device is located based onpre-configuration information or indirectly based on configurationinformation from a base station. The configuration information from thebase station includes one or more height thresholds determined by thebase station based on at least one of base station related information,cell related information and user equipment related information.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a device in awireless communication system is provided. The device includesprocessing circuitry configured to: determine, in response to a requestfrom a base station, whether a user equipment is allowed to use acurrent network, wherein the user equipment has UAV communicationcapability.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method in awireless communication system is provided. The method includes:determining, based on at least one of base station related information,cell related information and user equipment related information, one ormore height thresholds for a user equipment.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method in awireless communication system is provided. The method includes:acquiring, based on configuration information from a base station, oneor more height thresholds for a user equipment. The one or more heightthresholds are determined by the base station based on at least one ofbase station related information, cell related information and userequipment related information.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method in awireless communication system is provided. The method includes:acquiring one or more height thresholds for a user equipment based onpre-configuration information or indirectly based on configurationinformation from a base station. The configuration information from thebase station includes one or more height thresholds determined by thebase station based on at least one of base station related information,cell related information and user equipment related information.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method in awireless communication system is provided. The method includes:determining, in response to a request from a base station, whether auser equipment is allowed to use a current network, wherein the userequipment has UAV communication capability.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there are furtherprovided a computer readable storage medium having recorded thereonexecutable instructions for implementing the method(s) according to thepresent disclosure described above, and computer program codes andcomputer program products for implementing the method(s) according tothe present disclosure described above.

According to at least one aspect of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, a appropriate height threshold is set for a UAVcommunication scenario, such that the LTE-based UAV communication may beserved well, and various problems, such as configuration of an operationmode and resource allocation, that may exist in the UAV communicationscenario may be effectively solved and optimized.

According to another aspect of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, operations on a user equipment can be configured based on aheight threshold, such that the communication performance in the UAVcommunication scenario may be optimized.

According to another aspect of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the resource allocation is performed based on a heightthreshold, such that time-frequency resource allocation in a UAVcommunication scenario may be optimized, thereby improving the resourceutilization and reducing the interference.

Other aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are given inthe following description, in which the detailed description is used forfully disclosing, without limiting, preferred embodiments of thedisclosed disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure may be understood better with reference to thedetail description given in conjunction with the drawings in thefollowing. The same or similar element is indicated by the same orsimilar reference numeral throughout all the drawings. The drawingstogether with the following detailed description are incorporated intoand form a part of the specification and serve to further illustrate thepreferred embodiments of the present disclosure and to explain theprinciple and advantages of the present disclosure by way of example. Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a device ata base station side in a wireless communication system according to afirst embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of settingone or more height thresholds based on base station related informationaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of setting aheight threshold based on cell related information according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of setting aheight threshold based on user equipment related information accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a signaling interaction process in which auser equipment actively performs information feedback according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a signaling interaction process in which auser equipment performs information feedback in response to an enquiryfrom a base station according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a communicationscenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a signaling interaction process in a caseof a handover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a scenario in whicha base station transmits configuration information of a height thresholdto an in-coverage user equipment;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess for configuring a height threshold by using a system broadcastmessage;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess for configuring a height threshold by using an RRC connectionsetup message;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess for configuring a height threshold by using an RRC connectionreconfiguration message;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of thedevice at a base station side in a wireless communication systemaccording to the first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess of an authentication process according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a deviceat a user equipment side in a wireless communication system according tothe first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing another example of thecommunication scenario according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of thedevice at a user equipment side in a wireless communication systemaccording to the first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a deviceat a core network side in a wireless communication system according tothe first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a basestation side in a wireless communication system according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a userequipment side in a wireless communication system according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing another process example of the method ata user equipment side in a wireless communication system according tothe first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a corenetwork side in a wireless communication system according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a deviceat a base station side in a wireless communication system according to asecond embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess for implementing a height threshold based operation modeconfiguration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing another example of a signalinginteraction process for implementing a height threshold based operationmode configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a configuration example at a userequipment side in a wireless communication system according to thesecond embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a basestation side in a wireless communication system according to the secondembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a userequipment side in a wireless communication system according to thesecond embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a deviceat a base station side in a wireless communication system according to athird embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess of a resource allocation scheme according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a resourceallocation scheme based on a height interval according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a resourceallocation scheme based on a three-dimensional position according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 31A is a flowchart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess for optimizing resource allocation by interference coordinationbetween base stations according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 31B is a flowchart showing another example of a signalinginteraction process for optimizing resource allocation by interferencecoordination between base stations according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a signaling interaction process forassisting resource allocation in a case of an X2-based handover;

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing a signaling interaction process forassisting resource allocation in a case of an S1-based handover;

FIG. 34 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a deviceat a user equipment side in a wireless communication system according tothe third embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 35 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of thedevice at a user equipment side in a wireless communication systemaccording to the third embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 36 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a resource pooldivision manner based on a height interval;

FIG. 37 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a resource pooldivision manner based on a three-dimensional space;

FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a basestation side in a wireless communication system according to the thirdembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a userequipment side in a wireless communication system according to the thirdembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing another process example of the method ata user equipment side in a wireless communication system according tothe third embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 41 is a block diagram showing an example structure of a personalcomputer which can be used as an information processing device in anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 42 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematicconfiguration of an evolved Node B (eNB) to which the technology of thepresent disclosure may be applied; and

FIG. 43 is a block diagram showing a second example of a schematicconfiguration of an eNB to which the technology of the presentdisclosure may be applied.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described belowin conjunction with the drawings. For the sake of clarity andconciseness, not all the features of practical embodiments are describedin the specification. However, it is to be understood that numerousembodiment-specific decisions shall be made during developing any ofsuch actual embodiments so as to achieve the developer's specific goals,for example, to comply with system-related and business-relatedconstraining conditions which will vary from one embodiment to another.Furthermore, it is also to be understood that although the developmentwork may be very complicated and time-consuming, for those skilled inthe art benefiting from the present disclosure, such development work isonly a routine task.

It is further to be noted here that, to avoid obscuring the presentdisclosure due to unnecessary details, only the apparatus structureand/or processing step closely related to the solution of the presentdisclosure are shown in the drawings, and other details less related tothe present disclosure are omitted.

In the following, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure aredescribed in detail in conjunction with FIGS. 1 to 43. Hereinafter,description is made in the following order.

1. First Embodiment (determination, configuration and update of a heightthreshold as well as identification and authentication on an unmannedaerial vehicle (UAV))

-   -   1-1. Configuration example at a base station side    -   1-2. Configuration example at a user equipment side        -   1-2-1. Configuration example of a device at an in-coverage            (IC) user equipment side        -   1-2-2. Configuration Example of a device at an            out-of-coverage (OOC) user equipment side    -   1-3. Configuration example at a core network side    -   1-4. Method Embodiment

2. Second Embodiment (operation mode configuration based on a heightthreshold)

-   -   2-1. Configuration example at a base station side    -   2-2. Configuration example at a user equipment side    -   2-3. Method Embodiment

3. Third Embodiment (resource allocation based on a height threshold)

-   -   3-1. Configuration example at a base station side    -   3-2. Configuration example at a user equipment side        -   3-2-1. Configuration example of a device at an in-coverage            user equipment side        -   3-2-2. Configuration example of a device at an            out-of-coverage user equipment side    -   3-3. Method Embodiment

4. Computing device for implementing embodiments of the device(s) andmethod(s) of the present disclosure

5. Application examples of the technology of the present disclosure

Before describing the embodiments of the present disclosure in detail,it is to be noted that, in the following description, when referring to“a user equipment”, it generally refers to a “UAV” or a terminal havingUAV communication capability, unless explicitly stated that the userequipment is not a UAV or does not have the UAV communicationcapability. The “UAV communication capability” here refers to acapability of the UAV to get access to an LTE network for communication.

In addition, it is also to be noted that the mentioned “In Coverage(IC)” and “Out Of Coverage (OOC)” refer to cases where the userequipment is or is not within the coverage of the base station, that is,cases where there is or is not an effective connection between the userequipment and the base station or the connection quality can or cannotmeet a communication requirement. If the user equipment is within thecoverage of the base station, the user equipment is referred to as an“IC” user equipment, and if the user equipment is not within thecoverage of the base station, the user equipment is referred to as an“OOC” user equipment. Whether the user equipment is within the coverageof the base station may be determined, for example, by detecting theenergy of a synchronization signal, or may be determined by other meansknown in the art, which is not described in detail herein.

1. First Embodiment (Determination, Configuration and Update of a HeightThreshold and Identification and Authentication on a UAV) 1-1.Configuration Example at a Base Station Side

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a device ata base station side in a wireless communication system according to afirst embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, a device 100 according to the embodiment may includea determination unit 102.

The determination unit 102 may be configured to determine one or moreheight thresholds for a user equipment based on at least one of basestation related information, cell related information and user equipmentrelated information.

It is to be noted that the height threshold herein may refer to a heightrelative to the ground or a height relative to a reference height, whichis not limited in the present disclosure. In addition, it is also to benoted that in the following, when referring to “a height threshold”, itrefers to one or more height thresholds unless it is explicitly statedthat only one height threshold is included.

Specifically, since different base stations may have different relatedinformation such as sizes, heights, positions, and the like, the sameuser equipment (that is, UAV) has different heights relative todifferent base stations, so that different height thresholds may bedetermined for user equipments in different base stations.

FIG. 2A shows an example scenario in which one or more height thresholdsare set based on base station related information according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 2A, a base station BS1 and a base station BS2 havedifferent sizes and heights, so that height thresholds ThresUAVHeight1(BS1) to ThresUAVHeightN (BS1) determined for a user equipment withincoverage of the base station BS1 and height thresholds ThresUAVHeight1(BS2) to ThresUAVHeightN (BS2) determined for a user equipment withincoverage of the base station BS2 may be different in size, number,and/or interval between the height thresholds. On the other hand,although the base station BS2 and the base station BS3 have the samesize, the base station BS2 and the base station BS3 may have differentheights since the two base stations are in different positions (forexample, the base station BS2 is located on the ground and the basestation BS3 is located on a high building). Therefore, height thresholdsThresUAVHeight1 (BS2) to ThresUAVHeightN (BS2) determined for a userequipment within coverage of the base station BS2 and height thresholdsThresUAVHeight1 (BS3) to ThresUAVHeightN (BS3) determined for a userequipment within coverage of the base station BS3 may be different insize, number, and/or interval between the height thresholds.

On the other hand, the same base station may include multiple cells, andcell related information such as orientations, sizes, terrains, andintra-cell buildings of the cells may be different, so that the sameuser equipment may have different heights relative to different cells.Therefore, height thresholds determined for different user equipments indifferent cells may be different.

FIG. 2B shows an example scenario in which a height threshold is setbased on cell related information according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 2B, a cell Cell1 and a cell Cell2 belong to the samebase station. It can be seen that the two cells are different in size,terrain, and intra-cell building, so that height thresholdsThresUAVHeight1 (Cell1) to ThresUAVHeightN (Cell1) determined for a userequipment in the cell Cell1 and height thresholds ThresUAVHeight1(Cell2) to ThresUAVHeightN (Cell2) determined for a user equipment inthe cell Cell2 may be different in size, number, and/or interval betweenthe height thresholds.

Furthermore, since different user equipments may have different userequipment related information such as different service lives, operatingfrequencies, transmission powers, and flight heights/speeds, the heightthresholds determined for different user equipments in the same basestation or in the same cell may also be different.

FIG. 2C shows an example scenario in which a height threshold is setbased on user equipment related information according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 2C, user equipments UAV1, UAV2 and UAV3 are located inthe same cell of the same base station, and the user equipments UAV1,UAV2 and UAV3 have different types, flight heights and speeds, and thelike, so that height thresholds ThresUAVHeight1 (UAV1) toThresUAVHeightN (UAV1) determined for the user equipment UAV1, heightthresholds ThresUAVHeight1 (UAV2) to ThresUAVHeightN (UAV2) determinedfor the user equipment UAV2, and height thresholds ThresUAVHeight1(UAV3) to ThresUAVHeightN (UAV3) determined for the user equipment UAV3may be different in size, number, and/or interval between the heightthresholds.

When determining a height threshold for a user equipment, it is requiredto consider not only information related to the user equipment itself,but also information related to other user equipment surrounding theuser equipment, so as to determine the height threshold more reasonably.That is, the user equipment related information may include bothinformation related to a target user equipment and information relatedto other user equipment surrounding the target user equipment. The userequipment related information may be information pre-stored at the basestation side, information actively fed back by the user equipment, orinformation fed back in response to an inquiry (enquiry) from the basestation. The user equipment related information may include, but is notlimited to, capability information of the user equipment (for example,whether the user equipment has UAV communication capability, a maximumflight height and speed supported by the user equipment, and the like),communication parameters (for example, whether the user equipmentsupports multi-antenna transmission and reception, maximum transmissionpower, and the like), and the like. The two feedback manners aredescribed in detail below.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a signaling interaction process in which auser equipment actively performs information feedback according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 3, the user equipments UAV1 and UAV2 each may includeuser equipment related information in, for example, user equipmentassistance information (UEAssistanceInformation) signaling afterreceiving Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection reconfigurationsignaling (RRCConnectionReconfiguration) from the base station BS, so asto feed it back to the base station.

In this case, preferably, the device 100 may further include anacquisition unit 104, which may be configured to acquire assistanceinformation actively fed back by the user equipment as the userequipment related information. The assistance information may include,but is not limited to, one or more of capability information, a desiredflight height and a desired flight speed of the user equipment.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing a signaling interaction process inwhich a user equipment performs information feedback in response to anenquiry from a base station according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

As shown in FIG. 4, the base station BS may perform information enquiryto the user equipments UAV1 and UAV2 via, for example, user equipmentcapability enquiry (UECapabilityEnquiry) signaling and the userequipments UAV1 and UAV2 may each include the user equipment relatedinformation including capability information, communication parametersand the like in user equipment capability information(UECapabilityInformation) signaling after receiving the enquiry, so asto feed it back to the base station. Specifically, for example, the basestation may enquire, in the UECapabilityEnquiry signaling, whether theuser equipment supports Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access(E-UTRA). When feeding back the UECapabilityInformation signaling to thebase station, the user equipments UAV1 and UAV2 may each provide thefeedback by modifying existing information elements or fields in theUECapabilityInformation signaling, or indicate that the user equipmenthas the UAV Communication capability such as the supported maximummovement speed and flight height by adding a new information element orfield in the ue-CapabilityRAT-Container→UE-EUTRA-CapabilityIE.

In this case, preferably, the device 100 may further include a requestunit 106, which may be configured to generate a capability enquiryrequest for the user equipment to obtain capability information fed backby the user equipment in response to the capability enquiry request asthe user equipment related information.

It is to be noted that the signaling interaction processes for feedingback the user equipment related information described above withreference to FIGS. 3 and 4 are merely examples given for explaining theprinciples of the present disclosure, in which processes not related tothe technology of the present disclosure are omitted. Those skilled inthe art may also modify the interaction processes according to actualneeds. For example, information enquiry and feedback and the like may beperformed via other signaling than the above signaling.

In addition, preferably, in addition to the fed back assistanceinformation or capability information, the user equipment may feed backcategory information indicating a device category of the user equipmentas the user equipment related information to the base station activelyor in response to the enquiry from the base station. Specifically, a newdevice category of the user equipment (UECategory 13) may be defined forthe UAV, which may be performed by adding a parameter UECategory 13 in adownlink physical layer parameter and an uplink physical layer parameterset by a field UE-Category, so that the device 100 at the base stationside may acquire the user equipment related information, includingcapability information, communication parameters, and the like,according to the received category information indicating the devicecategory.

According to the above description, the height threshold determined forthe user equipment may be specific to a base station (BS-specific), to acell (Cell-specific) or to a user equipment (UE-specific). In otherwords, for different base stations and/or cells or for the same basestation and/or cell, the same user equipment may have the same ordifferent height thresholds, and different user equipments may have thesame or different height thresholds.

In practice, according to a specific application scenario, a heightthreshold for the user equipment may be determined based on one or moreof the above three factors (that is, base station related information,cell related information, and user equipment related information).

In addition, in addition to the above factors, in a case that the UAV isin flight, and information such as a flight height, a flight status, andsurrounding environment of the UAV is dynamically changed, it ispreferable that these dynamic changes are considered when determiningthe height threshold, which requires the user equipment to performmeasurement and reporting.

Referring back to FIG. 1, preferably, the device 100 may further includea measurement configuration unit 108, which may be configured togenerate measurement configuration information for a target userequipment and/or other user equipment, so that the target user equipmentand/or the other user equipment perform measurement and reportingperiodically, non-periodically or based on event triggering (forexample, when a handover occurs, when a traditional measurement reportevent A1 or A2 occurs, in a case that current configuration informationcannot meet a communication performance request of the user equipment,or in a case that a change of the flight height of the user equipment isbeyond a predetermined threshold) according to the measurementconfiguration information. When configuring a height threshold for anyuser equipment, only a measurement report result from the user equipmentitself may be considered, or only a measurement report result from oneor more other user equipments may be considered, or the measurementreport results from the above two types of user equipments may beconsidered together.

The measurement configuration information may be transmitted, forexample, by an RRC layer signaling measurement configuration(MeasConfig), and as a response, the user equipment may include itsmeasurement report result in a signaling measurement report(MeasurementReport). More specifically, the user equipment may includeits measurement report result in a measurement result (MeasResults) ofthe signaling.

In another implementation, instead of instructing the user equipment toperform measurement and reporting by using the above RRC layer signalingMeasConfig, the base station may also instruct, by using MAC layersignaling, the user equipment to perform measurement and reporting.Specifically, for example, the base station may instruct the userequipment to perform measurement and reporting by using a newly addedMAC control element (MAC CE), so that the user equipment receiving theinstruction may report its measurement result (including information ofa current height and the like) through the corresponding newly added MACCE.

Alternatively, in another implementation, the base station may alsoinstruct, by using physical layer signaling, the user equipment toperform measurement and reporting. Specifically, for example, the basestation may instruct the user equipment to perform measurement andreporting by modifying existing downlink control information (DCI) ornewly defining DCI, and the information may be transmitted in a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH). Correspondingly, the user equipmentreceiving the instruction may modify existing uplink control information(UCI) or newly defining UCI to carry its measurement result (includinginformation of a current height, and the like), and the information maybe transmitted in a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

It is to be noted that although examples of instructing the userequipment to perform measurement and reporting by using physical layersignaling, MAC layer signaling, and RRC layer signaling, it is to beunderstood that the user equipment may be instructed to performmeasurement and reporting by using the above signaling in a combinedmanner or by using other signaling than the above signaling.

The determination unit 102 may determine and/or update the heightthreshold for the target user equipment based on the measurement reportresult(s) from the target user equipment and/or the other userequipment. The measurement report result includes, but is not limitedto, one or more of position information, height information, speedinformation, and electric quantity information of the user equipment,and a measurement result for a neighboring cell.

In addition, preferably, the determination unit 102 may also determineand/or update the height threshold according to information of anenvironment in which the user equipment is currently located. Forexample, in different areas (for example, urban areas, suburbs),environmental information such as distribution densities of UAVs, basestations, other types of user equipments, buildings, and the like, aswell as terrain factors, and path losses are often different, and thusthe height threshold for the user equipment may be further optimized bytaking such environmental information into consideration.

On the other hand, since the flight height of the UAV is relatively highand there may be the LoS between the UAV and multiple base stations, theheight threshold for an optimized equipment may be further optimized bytaking interaction between the base stations into consideration, whichis especially advantageous for a case that the user equipment is at anedge of a cell. An embodiment in this case is described below withreference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a communicationscenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 5, the user equipments UAV2 and UAV4 are respectivelyconnected to the base stations BS1 and BS2, and are each located at anedge of a cell. In this case, when the base station BS1 and the basestation BS2 determine the height thresholds for the respective userequipments UAV2 and UAV4, information interaction may be performed firstto optimize determination and/or update of the height threshold. Thus,in a case that user equipment UAV2 and UAV4 use resources associatedwith their respective height thresholds, interference may be effectivelyavoided.

On the other hand, information interaction between the base stations isalso advantageous for a handover process. As shown in FIG. 5, the userequipment UAV2 flies from the base station BS1 to the base station BS2,so that a handover from a source cell to a target cell needs to beperformed. In this case, if the base station BS1 transmits the heightthreshold setting information of the target cell obtained viainformation interaction to the user equipment UAV2 in advance, a timedelay for the handover can be reduced, a failed handover can be avoided,and the interference can be reduced. FIG. 6 shows a signalinginteraction process in this case.

As shown in FIG. 6, after receiving a handover request from the basestation BS1, the base station BS2 includes a height threshold setting inits cell in a confirmation message for the handover request andtransmits it to the base station BS1. Through such informationinteraction, the base station BS1 may transmit the obtained heightthreshold to the user equipment UAV2, so that the user equipment UAV2may handover to the target cell by performing a random access processaccording to the received height threshold setting for the target cell.

It is to be understood that the signaling interaction process shown inFIG. 6 is merely an example given to explain the principles of thepresent disclosure, and signaling and descriptions that are not relatedto the technology of the present disclosure are omitted to avoidblurring, and it does not represent a complete actual handover process.

The factors that need to be considered when determining a heightthreshold for the user equipment are described above, but it is to beunderstood that this is only exemplary rather than restrictive. Inpractice, one or more of the above factors may be considered incombination with other factors than the above factors according to anactual application scenario to make reasonable determination and update.For example, information interaction between user equipments and thelike may also be considered.

Referring back to FIG. 1, preferably, the device 100 may further includea height threshold configuration unit 110, which may be configured togenerate configuration information including the determined one or moreheight thresholds. The configuration information is to be transmitted tothe user equipment for the user equipment to apply related operationsbased on the height thresholds.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a scenario in whicha base station transmits configuration information of a height thresholdto an in-coverage user equipment. As shown in FIG. 7, there are threeuser equipments UAV1, UAV2, and UAV3 within the coverage of the basestation BS, so that the base station may include the generatedconfiguration information of the height thresholds in physical layersignaling, MAC layer signaling, or RRC signaling and transmit it to eachuser equipment. The configuration of the height threshold using thethree types of signaling is described in detail below.

The physical layer signaling may be information carried by a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH), such as downlink control information(DCI). Specifically, the configuration information may be carried bymodifying (for example, adding an index to) an existing DCI format, or anewly defining DCI format. The newly defined DCI format may be specificto UAVs or may not be specific to UAVs. The height threshold may beindicated by an index in the newly defined DCI format. Table 1 shows anexample of a method of indicating a height threshold using an index(which may include one or more bits) in the DCI format. In this example,the index includes two bits, so that four different height thresholdsettings may be indicated. It may be understood that a greater number ofdifferent height threshold settings may be indicated depending on thenumber of bits of the index.

TABLE 1 Index Height threshold 00 ThresUAVHeight = {ThresUAVHeight1} 01ThresUAVHeight = {ThresUAVHeight1, ThresUAVHeight2} 11 ThresUAVHeight ={ThresUAVHeight1, ThresUAVHeight2, ThresUAVHeight3} 10 ThresUAVHeight ={ThresUAVHeight1, ThresUAVHeight2, . . . , ThresUAVHeightN}

The MAC signaling may include a MAC control element (MAC CE).Specifically, the height threshold may be configured by using the newlyadded MAC CE. That is, one logical channel ID (LCID) is selected fromthe currently reserved LCIDs to indicate the newly added MAC CE, and afield with a fixed length of one byte (8 bit) is set in the newly addedMAC CE to indicate different height threshold settings. The specificconfiguration is similar to that in the above Table 1, and is notdescribed in detail here.

The RRC signaling may include a system broadcast message, an RRCconnection setup message (RRCConnectionSetup), or an RRC connectionreconfiguration message (RRCConnectionReconfiguration).

Specifically, configuration information regarding the height thresholdmay be included in the existing system broadcast message. The systembroadcast message may be broadcast periodically to prevent, for example,newly joined user equipment from failing to receive the configurationinformation. For example, a corresponding information element may beadded to the RACH-ConfigCommon of a system information block of a typeSIB2 to indicate the height threshold. Alternatively, the heightthreshold may be configured by using a system information block ofanother existing type or a system information block of another type thatmay appear in the future, which is not specifically limited here. Thisconfiguration is particularly suitable for a case where the determinedheight threshold is base station-specific or cell-specific, which mayreduce the signaling overhead.

As an application example, preamble and physical random access channel(PRACH) resources may be associated with a height threshold. Forexample, if a current height of the UAV is greater than a certain heightthreshold, a set of specific preamble and PRACH resources are used forrandom access. If the current height is lower than a certain heightthreshold, traditional preamble and PRACH resources are used for randomaccess. In this way, after receiving the configuration informationregarding the height threshold from the base station, the UAV measuresits current flight height (for example, by GPS positioning) to selectappropriate preamble and PRACH resources, thereby improving the rate ofsuccessful random access and avoiding access conflicts.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess for configuring a height threshold by using a system broadcastmessage.

As shown in FIG. 8, the base station BS shown in FIG. 7 transmitsconfiguration information regarding the determined height threshold tothe user equipments UAV1, UAV2, and UAV3 by using, for example, a systeminformation block (SIB) of any type. The configuration information mayreach the user equipments at the same time or may also reach the userequipments at different times (as indicated by the dashed box in FIG.8).

On the other hand, considering that the height of the UAV before beingtaken-off is similar to the height of an ordinary user equipment on theground, the configuration information regarding the height threshold mayalso be transmitted to the UAV by using the RRC connection setup(RRCConnectionSetup) message. That is, the base station may transmit theconfiguration information regarding the height threshold to the UAV byusing the RRCConnectionSetup message in the last step of the randomaccess process of the UAV.

As an application example, after obtaining its own height threshold byusing the RRCConnectionSetup message from the base station, the UAV mayselect a corresponding time-frequency resource to communicate with thebase station according to a correspondence between the height thresholdand the time-frequency resource.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess for configuring a height threshold by using an RRC connectionsetup message.

In FIG. 9, a method for configuring a height threshold in a randomaccess process is shown by taken the user equipment UAV1 as an example,which is also applicable to the user equipments UAV2 and UAV3. Inaddition, it is to be noted that the random access process is notlimited to, for example, a random access process when the user equipmentis powered on, but may be a random access process in any case of, forexample, handover or asynchronization. As shown in FIG. 9, the userequipment UAV1 transmits a random access preamble to the base stationBS, and transmits an RRC connection request (RRCConnectionRequest) tothe base station after receiving the random access response from thebase station BS, so that after receiving the request, the base stationBS includes the configuration information regarding the height thresholdin the RRC connection setup (RRCConnectionSetup) message and transmit itto the user equipment UAV1.

On the other hand, considering that the height of the UAV before beingtaken-off is similar to a height of an ordinary user equipment on theground, the configuration information regarding the height threshold mayalso be transmitted to the UAV by using the RRC connectionreconfiguration message (RRCConnectionReconfiguration). That is, afterthe UAV setup a connection with the base station, the base station maytransmit a configuration message regarding the height threshold to theUAV by using the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message.

In an application, after obtaining the configuration informationregarding the height threshold according to the receivedRRCConnectionReconfiguration message, the UAV may select a correspondingtime-frequency resource according to a correspondence between the heightthreshold and the time-frequency resource, to communicate with the basestation. Preferably, in a case that the height of the UAV is relativelylow, the height threshold may not be configured for the UAV, Rather, theconfiguration information regarding the height threshold is transmittedto the user equipment by using the RRCConnectionReconfiguration messagein a case that the base station determines that a current heightreported by the user equipment is higher than a specific heightthreshold (for example, a smallest height threshold in the one or moreheight thresholds).

It is to be noted that, as described above, the height threshold for theUAV may be dynamically updated according to environmental information,measurement report information of the user equipment, interactionbetween the base stations, and the like, and thus configurationinformation regarding the updated height threshold may be notified tothe UAV by using the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess for configuring a height threshold by using an RRC ConnectionReconfiguration message.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 10 is different from the flowchart shown inFIG. 9 in that, in FIG. 10, after receiving an RRC connection setupcomplete message (RRCConnectionSetupComplete) from the user equipmentUAV1, the base station BS transmits the configuration informationregarding the height threshold to the user equipment UAV1 by using theRRCConnectionReconfiguration message; and after successfully receivingthe RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, the user equipment UAV1 feedsback the RRC connection reconfiguration complete(RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete) message to the base station BS toindicate that the RRC connection reconfiguration process is completed.

It is to be understood that the signaling interaction processes shown inFIGS. 8 to 10 in which the configuration information regarding theheight threshold is notified by using the RRC layer signaling are onlyexamples, in which the illustration and description not related to thetechnology of the present disclosure are omitted to avoid blurring, andthose skilled in the art may appropriately modify the above-describedsignaling interaction processes according to actual conditions, and allof such modifications should be considered to fall within the scope ofthe present disclosure.

Furthermore, it is to be noted that although examples of notifying theconfiguration information regarding a height threshold by using thephysical layer signaling, the MAC layer signaling, and the RRC layersignaling are described above, it is to be understood that theconfiguration information regarding a height threshold may also benotified by using the above signaling in a combined manner or by usingother signaling than the above signaling.

The process of determination, configuration, and update of one or moreheight thresholds for a user equipment is described above, but it is tobe understood that this is performed by assuming that the user equipmentis a UAV (or has UAV communication capability) and is allowed to accessa current network. The base station does not need to configure a heightthreshold for a user equipment that does not have the UAV communicationcapability or is not allowed to access the current network. Therefore,in fact, before configuring the height threshold for the user equipment,the user equipment is to be identified (that is, to confirm whether theuser equipment has the UAV communication capability) and authenticated(that is, to confirm whether the user equipment is allowed to access thecurrent network). This embodiment is described in detail below withreference to FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of thedevice at a base station side in a wireless communication systemaccording to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 11, a device 200 according to the embodiment includesan identification unit 202, an authentication unit 204, and adetermination unit 206. The functional configuration example of thedetermination unit 206 is substantially the same as that of thedetermination unit 102 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 10,and is not repeated here. Only functional configuration examples of theidentification unit 202 and the authentication unit 204 are described indetail below.

The identification unit 202 may be configured to determine whether theuser equipment has the UAV communication capability according to userequipment related information from the user equipment. The descriptionto the user equipment related information (including an acquiringprocess, the included information, and the like) may be referred to thedescription at a corresponding part above, for example,UEAssistanceInformation and UECapabilityInformation or UECategory 13described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, which is not repeatedhere.

The authentication unit 204 may be configured to request a core networkequipment (for example, a mobility management entity (MME) and/or a homesubscriber server (HSS) to confirm whether the user equipment is allowedto use the current network legally in a case that it is determined thatthe user equipment has the UAV communication capability.

Specifically, for example, the authentication process may be performedin an attach procedure of the user equipment. The authentication processis described in detail below with reference to the flowchart shown inFIG. 12.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess of an authentication process according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 12, for the user equipment UAV that is determined tohave the UAV communication capability, the base station BS forwards,after receiving the attach request of the user equipment (including theidentity information of the user equipment, for example, theinternational mobile equipment identity, IMEI), the attach request tothe core network equipment. The core network equipment authenticates theuser equipment according to the identity information of the userequipment included in the attach request, that is, confirming whetherthe user equipment is allowed to use the current network legally.

After confirming the identity information of the user equipment, thecore network equipment transmits an attach accept message to the basestation BS to indicate that the user equipment is allowed to use thecurrent network legally. After receiving this confirmation message, thebase station BS transmits an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message to theuser equipment UAV to inform the user equipment UAV of allowance ofattachment. Preferably, as described above, theRRCConnectionReconfiguration message may also include the configurationinformation regarding a height threshold for the user equipment.

After successfully receiving the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message,the user equipment UAV feeds back anRRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message to the base station, sothat the base station transmits an attach complete message to the corenetwork equipment to indicate that the attach procedure of the userequipment UAV is completed.

It is to be understood that the signaling interaction process forauthenticating the user equipment by the attach procedure describedherein with reference to FIG. 12 is only given to explain the principlesof the present disclosure and does not constitute any limitation, andthose skilled in the art may also authenticate the user equipment byother suitable processes, to confirm whether the user equipment isallowed to access the current network legally.

It is to be noted that the various functional units described above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 11 are merely logical modules divided accordingto the specific functions thereof, and are not intended to limit thespecific implementations. In the actual implementation, the functionalunits and modules may be implemented as separated physical entities, ormay be implemented by a single entity (for example, a processor (CPU,DSP or the like), an integrated circuit or the like).

In addition, it is to be noted that the devices 100 described above withreference to FIG. 1 and the device 200 described above with reference toFIG. 11 may be implemented at a chip level, or may be implemented at adevice level by including other peripheral components. For example, thedevices 100 and 200 may also operate as the base station itself, and mayalso include a communication unit (which is optional and indicated by adashed box) for performing communication. For example, the communicationunit may be used to perform communication with the user equipment,communication with other base station, communication with the corenetwork equipment, and the like. In addition, it is further to be notedthat the specific implementation of the communication unit is notlimited here, and it may include one or more communication interface(s)for realizing communication with different external devices.

1-2. Configuration Example at a User Equipment Side

Corresponding to the configuration example at a base station sidedescribed above, a configuration example at a user equipment side isdescribed below.

The base station may determine, configure, and update the heightthreshold for the user equipment only in a case that the user equipmentis located within the coverage of the base station. The base stationcannot directly determine, configure, or update the height threshold forthe user equipment in a case that the user equipment is located outsidethe coverage of the base station. Therefore, in the followingdescription, configuration examples for an in-coverage user equipmentand an out-of-coverage user equipment are described separately.

(1-2-1. Configuration Example of an in-Coverage User Equipment)

A configuration example of the in-coverage user equipment is describedin detail below with reference to FIG. 13, which is a block diagramshowing a configuration example of a device at a user equipment side ina wireless communication system according to the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 13, a device 300 according to the embodiment mayinclude an acquisition unit 302. The acquisition unit 302 may beconfigured to acquire one or more height thresholds for a user equipmentin which the device 300 is located based on configuration informationfrom a base station. The one or more height thresholds are determined bythe base station based on at least one of base station relatedinformation, cell related information, and user equipment relatedinformation.

Specifically, for example, the acquisition unit 302 may acquire heightthreshold information for the user equipment according to an indicationof related information element or field in physical layer signaling (forexample, DCI), MAC layer signaling (for example, MAC CE), or RRC layersignaling (for example, SIB, RRCConnectionSetup, orRRCConnectionReconfiguration) from the base station. Specifically,description of acquiring the height threshold information according tothe information element or the field in the corresponding signaling maybe referred to the description at a corresponding part in the embodimentof the base station side, which is not repeated here.

Preferably, the device 300 may further include a feedback unit 304. Thefeedback unit 304 may be configured to feed back the user equipmentrelated information actively or in response to an enquiry from the basestation for the base station to determine one or more height thresholdsfor the user equipment and/or determine whether the user equipment hasthe UAV communication capability (that is, authenticate the userequipment) before determining the height thresholds.

As an example, the feedback unit 304 may actively feedback assistanceinformation related to the user equipment (including but not limited tocapability information, communication parameters, and the like) to thebase station by using, for example, the UEAssistanceInformation messagedescribed above. As another example, the feedback unit 304 may feedbackits capability information, communication parameters, and the like tothe base station by using the UECapabilityInformation in response to thecapability enquiry request (UECapabilityEnquiry) from the base station.As yet another example, the feedback unit 304 may feedback categoryinformation indicating the device category of the user equipment (forexample, the above UEcategory 13) to the base station actively or inresponse to an enquiry from the base station. The feedback informationmay serve as user equipment related information for the base station todetermine the height threshold and/or to identify the user equipment.For a specific feedback process, reference may be made to thedescription at the corresponding part in the above embodiment of thebase station side, which is not repeated here.

Preferably, the device 300 may further include a request unit 306, whichmay be configured to issue a request (for example, the attach request inthe attach procedure, which may include the identity information of theuser equipment) to the base station in a case that the base stationdetermines that the user equipment has the UAV communication capabilityaccording to the related information fed back by the feedback unit 304,so that after receiving the request, the base station in turn requeststhe core network equipment to confirm whether the user equipment isallowed to use the current network legally (that is, authenticate theuser equipment). In a case that the core network equipment confirms thelegal identity of the user equipment (that is, the user equipment isallowed to use the current network legally), the device 300 may performan attaching operation to the current network. For a specificauthentication process, reference may be made to the description at thecorresponding part in the above embodiment of the base station side,which is not repeated here.

Preferably, the device 300 may further include a measurement report unit308, which may be configured to perform measurement and reportingperiodically, non-periodically, or based on event triggering accordingto measurement configuration information from the base station, for thebase station to determine and/or update the height threshold accordingto a measurement report result. The measurement report result may becarried in the MeasurementReport as the RRC layer signaling, the newlyadded MAC CE as the MAC layer signaling, and/or the UCI as the physicallayer signaling to be reported to the base station. For the process ofperforming measurement and reporting based on the measurementconfiguration information, reference may be made to the description atthe corresponding part in the above embodiment of the base station side,which is not repeated here.

Moreover, preferably, in some cases, if there is a connection between anin-coverage user equipment and an out-of-coverage user equipment, thein-coverage user equipment may assist in determining a height thresholdfor a remote user equipment (that is, the out-of-coverage userequipment) or relay configuration information regarding the heightthreshold from the base station to the remote user equipment. Anembodiment in this case is described below in conjunction with theexample of a communication scenario shown in FIG. 14, which is aschematic diagram showing another example of a communication scenarioaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 14, the out-of-coverage user equipment UAV4 and UAV5are both connected to the in-coverage user equipment UAV2. Since theuser equipment UAV4 and the user equipment UAV5 cannot receive theconfiguration information regarding the height threshold from the basestation, the user equipment UAV4 and the user equipment UAV5 may eachtransmits a request (for example, a broadcast request or a multicastrequest) to a surrounding user equipment to obtain the configurationinformation regarding the height threshold, so that the in-coverage userequipment UAV2 with which it is connected may determine, configureand/or update, after receiving the request, the height threshold for theuser equipments UAV4 and UAV5 according to the configuration informationreceived from the base station or independently.

Referring back to FIG. 13, preferably, the device 300 may furtherinclude a configuration unit 310, which may be configured to: determineand/or update a height threshold for a surrounding user equipment basedon the configuration information regarding the height threshold from thebase station in combination with information related to anout-of-coverage user equipment (including a service life, an operatingfrequency, a transmission power, a flight height/speed, and the like ofthe user equipment) known by the device 300, and transmit the determinedheight threshold to the surrounding user equipment, in response to arequest from the surrounding user equipment.

As another preferred example, the request from the surrounding userequipment may further include a resource request of the surrounding userequipment, so that the configuration unit 310 may configure anappropriate height threshold for the surrounding user equipment thattransmits the request based on the resource request.

Alternatively, for some user equipments having relatively weakcapability, the configuration unit 310 may also merely relay, withoutany modification, the configuration information regarding the heightthreshold received from the base station to the surrounding userequipment that transmits the request.

In addition, for some user equipments having strong capability, theconfiguration unit 310 may independently configure the height thresholdbased on the information related to the surrounding user equipment andthe like know by itself without referring to the configurationinformation regarding the height threshold from the base station.

It is to be understood that the configuration examples at thein-coverage user equipment side described herein with reference to FIGS.13 and 14 correspond to the configuration examples at the base stationside described above, and for content that is not described in detailherein, reference may be made to the description at the correspondingpart above, which is not repeated here.

(1-2-2. Configuration Example of an Out-of-Coverage User Equipment)

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of thedevice at a user equipment side in a wireless communication systemaccording to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The userequipment corresponds, for example, to the user equipments UAV4 and UAV5in the example of a communication scenario shown in FIG. 14.

As shown in FIG. 15, a device 400 according to the embodiment mayinclude an acquisition unit 402, which may be configured to acquire oneor more height thresholds for a user equipment in which the device 400is located based on pre-configuration information or indirectly based onconfiguration information from a base station.

It is to be noted that, a height threshold for an out-of-coverage userequipment may be at least pre-configurable, for example, may bepre-stored in a memory of the user equipment by the manufacturer whenmanufacturing the user equipment. In this way, in a case that the userequipment cannot acquire the configuration information regarding theheight threshold from the base station, the acquisition unit 402 mayread related pre-configuration information from the memory of the userequipment to acquire a height threshold pre-configured for the userequipment.

Preferably, the device 400 may further include a request unit 404, whichmay be configured to issue a request in a case that there is aconnection between the user equipment in which device 400 is located andother in-coverage user equipment, so that the in-coverage user equipmentreceiving the request may determine and/or update the height thresholdfor the user equipment based on the configuration information from thebase station, or relay the configuration information from the basestation. For example, referring to the example of a communicationscenario shown in FIG. 14, the out-of-coverage user equipments UAV4 andUAV5 may each issues a request to the in-coverage user equipment UAV2connected thereto, and receives a height threshold configured by thebase station or the user equipment UAV2 from the user equipment UAV2.

Preferably, the request issued by the request unit 404 to the other userequipment may include its own resource request, so that if anin-coverage user equipment receiving the request have strong capability,it may set an appropriate height threshold according to the resourcerequest.

It is to be noted that the various functional units described above withreference to FIGS. 13 and 15 are merely logical modules dividedaccording to the specific functions thereof, and are not intended tolimit the specific implementations. In the actual implementation, thefunctional units and modules may be implemented as separated physicalentities, or may be implemented by a single entity (for example, aprocessor (CPU, DSP or the like), an integrated circuit or the like).

It is to be noted that the device 300 described above with reference toFIG. 13 and the device 400 described above with reference to FIG. 15 maybe implemented at a chip level, or may be implemented at a device levelby including other peripheral components. For example, the devices 300and 400 may also operate as the user equipment itself, and may alsoinclude a communication unit (which is optional and indicated by adashed box) for performing communication. For example, the communicationunit may be used to perform communication with the base station,communication with the other user equipment, and the like. In addition,it is further to be noted that the specific implementation of thecommunication unit is not limited here, and it may include one or morecommunication interface(s) for realizing communication with differentexternal devices.

1-3. Configuration Example at a Core Network Side

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a deviceat a core network side in a wireless communication system according tothe first embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 16, a device 500 according to the embodiment mayinclude a confirmation unit 502, which may be configured to confirmwhether the user equipment is allowed to use the current network inresponse to a request from a base station (for example, an attachrequest received from a user equipment in the above attach procedure).The user equipment is determined by the base station to have the UAVcommunication capability. Specifically, the confirmation unit 502 mayconfirm whether the user equipment is allowed to access the currentnetwork legally according to the identity information (for example,IMEI) of the user equipment included in the received request.

Then, a confirmation result of the confirmation unit 502 (for example,the “attach accept” message in the above attach procedure) may betransmitted to the base station, so that the device at the base stationside may determine, configure, and update the one or more heightthresholds for the user equipment according to the confirmation result.

In addition, the confirmation result is also transmitted to the userequipment by the base station, so that the user equipment may perform anattachment (or access) to the current network according to the receivedconfirmation result.

For a detailed description of the authentication process for the userequipment, reference may be made to the description at the correspondingpart in the above embodiment of the base station side, which is notrepeated here.

Similarly, it is to be noted that the various functional units describedabove with reference to FIG. 16 are merely logical modules dividedaccording to the specific functions thereof, and are not intended tolimit the specific implementations. In the actual implementation, thefunctional units and modules may be implemented as separated physicalentities, or may be implemented by a single entity (for example, aprocessor (CPU, DSP or the like), an integrated circuit or the like).

It is to be noted that the device 500 described with reference to FIG.16 may be implemented at a chip level, or may be implemented at a devicelevel by including other peripheral components. For example, the device500 may also include a communication unit (which is optional andindicated by a dashed box) for performing communication. For example,the communication unit may be used to perform communication with thebase station and the like. In addition, it is further to be noted thatthe specific implementation of the communication unit is not limitedhere, and it may include one or more communication interface(s) forrealizing communication with different external devices.

In addition, it is to be noted that although the device embodiments(including the device at a base station side, the device at a userequipment side, and the device at a core network side) of the presentdisclosure are described above with reference to the block diagramsshown in the drawings, they are exemplary rather than restrictive. Thoseskilled in the art may modify the shown functional configurationexamples according to the principles of the present disclosure. Forexample, various functional modules in the embodiment may be added,deleted, modified, combined or the like, and all of such modificationsare considered to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

1-4. Method Embodiment

Corresponding to the above device embodiment, a method embodiment isfurther provided according to the present disclosure. The methodembodiment according to the present disclosure is described simply inconjunction with FIGS. 17 to 20.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a basestation side in a wireless communication system according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 17, the method according to the embodiment starts atstep S601. In step S601, one or more of base station relatedinformation, cell related information, and user equipment relatedinformation are acquired.

Then, the method proceeds to step S602. In step S602, one or more heightthresholds for a user equipment are determined based on the acquired oneor more of base station related information, cell related information,and user equipment related information.

It is to be noted that the method embodiment described hereincorresponds to the device embodiment at the base station side describedabove, and for the content which is not described in detail herein,reference may be made to the description at the corresponding partabove, which is not repeated here.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a userequipment side in a wireless communication system according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 18, the method according to the embodiment starts atstep S701. In step S701, configuration information from a base stationis acquired. The configuration information may be included in physicallayer signaling, MAC layer signaling, or RRC layer signaling.

Then, the method proceeds to step S702. In step S702, one or more heightthresholds for the user equipment are determined based on the acquiredconfiguration information.

It is to be noted that the method embodiment described hereincorresponds to the device embodiment at the in-coverage user equipmentside described above, and for the content which is not described indetail herein, reference may be made to the description at thecorresponding part above, which is not repeated here.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing another process example of the method ata user equipment side in a wireless communication system according tothe first embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 19, the method according to the embodiment starts atstep S801. In step S801, configuration information indirectly from thebase station or pre-configuration information is acquired.

Then, the method proceeds to step S802. In step S802, one or more heightthresholds for the user equipment are determined based on thepre-configuration information or the configuration informationindirectly from the base station.

It is to be noted that the method embodiment described hereincorresponds to the device embodiment at the out-of-coverage userequipment side described above, and for the content which is notdescribed in detail herein, reference may be made to the description atthe corresponding part above, which is not repeated here.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a corenetwork side in a wireless communication system according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 20, the method according to the embodiment starts atstep S901. In step S901, in response to a request from a base station,it is confirmed whether the user equipment is allowed to use a currentnetwork, wherein the user equipment is determined by the base station tohave UAV communication capability.

Then, the method proceeds to step S902. In step S902, a confirmationresult is transmitted to the base station, for the base station toforward it to the user equipment to perform the attaching operation tothe current network, and/or for the base station to determine a heightthreshold for the user equipment.

It is to be understood that the method embodiment described herecorresponds to the above described device embodiment at a core networkside, and for content which is not described in detail here, referencemay be made to the above descriptions at the corresponding part, whichis not repeated herein.

In addition, it is to be understood that flow charts shown in aboveFIGS. 17 to 20 are exemplary rather than restrictive. Those skilled inthe art may modify the illustrated processing flow examples according tothe principles of the present disclosure. For example, various steps inthe embodiment may be added, deleted, modified, combined or the like,and all of such modifications are considered to fall within the scope ofthe present disclosure.

According to the first embodiment of the present disclosure describedabove, it is possible to reasonably determine, configure, and update oneor more height thresholds for the user equipment, where the heightthreshold is an important factor for implementing and optimizing variousapplication scenarios (for example, configuration of operation modes,resource allocation) for the LTE-based UAV communication. In addition,identification and authentication operations on the user equipment inthe UAV communication are also described.

In the following description, an example of an application scenario ofthe height threshold in the UAV communication is given.

Here, it is to be noted that in application example based on a heightthreshold described below, the height threshold may be determinedaccording to the above-described technology of the present disclosure,may be pre-configured, or may be determined according to othertechnology than the above-described technology of the presentdisclosure, which is not specifically limited in the present disclosure,and only the solution on how to solve related problems in the UAVcommunication by using the height threshold is focused.

In addition, it is also to be noted that the application examplesdescribed below are all directed to a user equipment having the UAVcommunication capability and allowed to use a current network legally(that is, a user equipment that is identified by the identificationprocess and authenticated by the authentication process).

2. Second Embodiment (Operation Mode Configuration Based on a HeightThreshold)

In a case that a UAV is not taken off or has a relatively low flightheight (relative to a height of a base station), the UAV is similar toan ordinary user equipment on the ground, so that the UAV may operate inan operation mode similar to that of the ordinary user equipment. Here,the operation mode in which the UAV flies at a height lower than acertain height threshold is referred to as a “hovering mode”. However,in a case that the flight height of the UAV is high, the hovering modecannot meet the communication requirement of the UAV. In this case, theUAV may preferably operate in another operation mode different from theabove hovering mode. Here, the operation mode in which the UAV flies ata height above a certain height threshold is referred to as a “flyingmode”.

Therefore, it may be considered to determine the operation mode of theUAV based on the height threshold, which facilitates assisting theresource allocation, eliminating the interference, assisting thehandover and the like.

2-1. Configuration Example at a Base Station Side

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a deviceat a base station side in a wireless communication system according tothe second embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 21, a device 1000 according to the embodiment mayinclude an operation configuration unit 1002, which may be configured toconfigure an operation of a user equipment directly or indirectly basedon one or more height thresholds for the user equipment and a currentheight of the user equipment.

As an example, the base station may instruct the user equipment to turnon or turn off the flying mode or perform (apply) an operation in acorresponding mode based on height threshold information and heightinformation reported by the user equipment.

Preferably, the device 1000 may further include a measurementconfiguration unit 1004, which may be configured to generate measurementconfiguration information for the user equipment, so that the userequipment reports information related to its current height based on themeasurement configuration information. The specific measurement reportprocess is similar to the measurement report process described in theabove first embodiment, which is not repeated here.

Then, the operation configuration unit 1002 may determine, according tothe height information reported by the user equipment based on themeasurement configuration information of the measurement configurationunit 1004, whether the current height of the user equipment is higherthan a smallest height threshold of the one or more height thresholds,and instruct the user equipment to turn on or turn off the flying modeaccording to a determination result. Specifically, for example, if it isdetermined that the current height is higher than the smallest heightthreshold, the user equipment is instructed to turn on the flying mode,otherwise, the user equipment is instructed to turn off the flying mode.

Alternatively, the user equipment may also actively turn on or turn offthe flying mode based on a relationship between the current height andthe height threshold. For example, in a case that it is determined thatthe current height is higher than the smallest height threshold, theuser equipment actively turn on the flying mode; otherwise, the userequipment actively turn off the flying mode; and the user equipmentfurther reports the height information at this time to the base station.In this way, the operation configuration unit 1002 in the device at thebase station side may determine that the user equipment has turned onthe flying mode if it determines that the current height is higher thanthe smallest height threshold according to the received heightinformation, so that the base station may apply a related operation inthe flying mode on the user equipment (for example, schemes of resourceallocation, interference coordination, handover, and the like in theflying mode). On the other hand, if the base station determines that thecurrent height is lower than or equal to the smallest height threshold,the base station determines that the user equipment has turned off theflying mode, so that the base station may apply a related operation inthe hovering mode on the user equipment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess in this example case.

As shown in FIG. 22, the base station transmits the measurementconfiguration information to the user equipment UAV by using, forexample, a MeasConfig message, so that the user equipment UAV reportsits height information periodically, non-periodically, or based on theevent triggering according to the received measurement configurationinformation (for example, the reporting is performed in a case that thecurrent height is determined to be higher than the smallest heightthreshold, to reduce the signaling overhead). Then, the base stationinstructs the user equipment to turn on or turn off the flying modebased on the received height information, or apply a related operationin the flying mode or a related operation in the hovering mode on theuser equipment (corresponding to the case where the user equipmentactively turns on/turns off the flying mode).

Alternatively, as another example, the user equipment may also notdirectly report the information related to the current height to thebase station, but determines by itself whether to turn on or turn offthe flying mode according to information regarding the current heightand the height threshold, and issue a request to the base stationaccording to a determination result, so that the base station configuresan operation for the user equipment according to the received request.

Specifically, the operation configuration unit 1002 may instruct theuser equipment to turn on the flying mode or apply the related operationin the flying mode on the user equipment (corresponding to the case thatthe user equipment actively turns on the flying mode) in response to therequest transmitted by the user equipment in a case that its currentheight is higher than the smallest height threshold. On the other hand,the operation configuration unit 1002 may instruct the user equipment toturn off the flying mode or apply the related operation in the hoveringmode on the user equipment (corresponding to the case that the userequipment actively turns off the flying mode) in response to the requesttransmitted by the user equipment in a case that its current height islower than or equal to the smallest height threshold.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing a signaling interaction process in thisexample case.

As shown in FIG. 23, the user equipment UAV may obtain its currentheight by, for example, GPS positioning, and issue (make) a request tothe base station BS in a case that it is determined that the currentheight is higher than the smallest height threshold. After receiving therequest, the base station BS instructs the user equipment to turn on theflying mode or apply the related operation in the flying mode on theuser equipment. In a case that it is determined that the current heightis lower than or equal to the smallest height threshold, the userequipment UAV issue a request to the base station BS again, so that thebase station BS may instruct, according to the received request, theuser equipment to turn off the flying mode or apply the relatedoperation in the hovering mode on the user equipment.

It is to be understood that the examples of the signaling interactionprocesses shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 are given only to explain theprinciples of the present disclosure and do not constitute anylimitation, where the illustration and description not related to thetechnology of the present disclosure are omitted to avoid blurring, andthose skilled in the art may make appropriate modifications to thesignaling interaction processes according to the principles of thepresent disclosure.

It is to be noted that although in the above example, the smallestheight threshold is used as a criterion for switching between the flyingmode and the hovering mode, it is to be understood that the criterionmay also be set to be smaller or greater than the smallest heightthreshold according to actual conditions.

It is to be noted that the device 1000 described above with reference toFIG. 21 may be implemented at a chip level, or may be implemented at adevice level by including other peripheral components. For example, thedevice 1000 may also operate as the base station itself, and may alsoinclude a communication unit (which is optional and indicated by adashed box) for performing communication. For example, the communicationunit may be used to perform communication with the user equipment,communication with the other base station, communication with the corenetwork equipment, and the like. In addition, it is to be further notedthat the specific implementation of the communication unit is notlimited here, and it may include one or more communication interface(s)for realizing communication with different external devices.

2-2. Configuration Example at a User Equipment Side

Corresponding to the configuration example at a base station sidedescribed above, a configuration example at a user equipment side isdescribed below. FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a configurationexample at a user equipment side in a wireless communication systemaccording to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 24, a device 1100 according to the embodiment mayinclude an information generation unit 1102, which may be configured togenerate information directly or indirectly related to a current heightof the user equipment. The information may be transmitted to the basestation for the base station to configure an operation for the userequipment based on the information and one or more height thresholds forthe user equipment.

Specifically, as an example, the information generating unit 1102 may beconfigured to generate a measurement report including its current heightperiodically, non-periodically, or based on event triggering accordingto measurement configuration information from the base station, asinformation directly related to the current height of the userequipment.

In this way, the base station may instruct, based on the received heightinformation and the one or more height thresholds for the userequipment, the user equipment to turn on or turn off the flying mode, orapply a related operation in the flying mode or the hovering mode on theuser equipment (corresponding to the case that the user equipmentactively turns on or turns off the flying mode).

Alternatively, as another example, the information generation unit 1102may be configured to generate a request related to the flying mode andthe hovering mode based on the current height of the user equipment andthe one or more height thresholds for the user equipment, as informationindirectly related to the current height of the user equipment. Therequest may indicate that the user equipment needs to turn on or turnoff the flying mode at this time, or may also indicate that the userequipment has turned on or turned off the flying mode to request thebase station to perform the operation in a corresponding mode thereon.

Specifically, the information generation unit 1102 may generate arequest for turning on the flying mode or performing the operation inthe flying mode in a case that the current height is higher than asmallest height threshold, and generate a request for turning off theflying mode or performing the operation in the hovering mode in a casethat the current height is lower than or equal to the smallest heightthreshold.

Preferably, the device 1100 may further include a control unit 1104,which may be configured to turn on or turn off the flying mode of theuser equipment in response to an indication from the base station, theindication from the base station may be determined according to thereceived height information or according to a request from the userequipment.

Alternatively, the control unit 1104 may be further configured toactively turn on or turn off the flying mode of the user equipmentaccording to a relationship between the current height and the smallestheight threshold.

It is to be understood that there is no need to distinguish whether theuser equipment is within the coverage of the base station. Specifically,an in-coverage user equipment may use configuration informationregarding the height threshold received from the base station, and anout-of-coverage user equipment may use a pre-configured height thresholdor a height threshold configured or forwarded by other user equipment.In other words, in this application example, neither the method ofdetermining the height threshold nor the method of acquiring the heightthreshold is limited.

It is to be noted that the configuration example at the user equipmentside described herein corresponds to the configuration examples at thebase station side described above with reference to FIGS. 21 to 23, andfor the content not described in detail herein, reference may be made tothe description at the corresponding part above, which is not repeatedhere.

It is to be noted that the device 1100 described above with reference toFIG. 24 may be implemented at a chip level, or may be implemented at adevice level by including other peripheral components. For example, thedevice 1100 may also operate as the user equipment itself, and may alsoinclude a communication unit (which is optional and indicated by adashed box) for performing communication. For example, the communicationunit may be used to perform communication with the other user equipment,communication with the base station, and the like. In addition, it is tobe further noted that the specific implementation of the communicationunit is not limited here, and it may include one or more communicationinterface(s) for realizing communication with different externaldevices.

It is to be noted that the various functional units described above withreference to FIGS. 21 and 24 are merely logical modules dividedaccording to the specific functions thereof, and are not intended tolimit the specific implementations. In the actual implementation, thefunctional units and modules may be implemented as separated physicalentities, or may be implemented by a single entity (for example, aprocessor (CPU, DSP or the like), an integrated circuit or the like).

In addition, it is to be noted that although the device embodiments(including the device at a base station side and the device at a userequipment side) of the present disclosure are described above withreference to the block diagrams shown in the drawings, they areexemplary rather than restrictive. Those skilled in the art may modifythe shown functional configuration examples according to the principlesof the present disclosure. For example, various functional modules inthe embodiment may be added, deleted, modified, combined or the like,and all of such modifications are considered to fall within the scope ofthe present disclosure.

2-3. Method Embodiment

Corresponding to the above device embodiments, method embodimentsaccording to the present disclosure are described below.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a basestation side in a wireless communication system according to the secondembodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 25, the method according to the embodiment starts atstep S1201. In step S1201, information directly or indirectly related toa current height of a user equipment is acquired, and the informationmay be height information reported by the user equipment according tomeasurement configuration information or may be a request issued by theuser equipment according to its current height and the height threshold.

Then, the method proceeds to step S1202. In step S1202, an operation ofthe user equipment is configured according to the received informationand the height threshold for the user equipment. For example, the userequipment is instructed to turn on or turn off the flying mode, or anoperation in the flying mode or the hovering mode is performed on theuser equipment.

It is to be noted that the method embodiment described hereincorresponds to the device embodiment described above with reference toFIG. 21, and for the content which is not described in detail here,reference may be made to the above description at the correspondingpart, which is not repeated here.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a userequipment side in a wireless communication system according to thesecond embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 26, the method according to the embodiment starts atstep S1301. In step S1301, the current height of the user equipment isacquired.

Then, the method proceeds to step S1302. In step S1302, informationdirectly or indirectly related to the current height is generated, whichmay be the current height itself or may also be a request transmitted bythe user equipment according to the current height. The information istransmitted to the base station for the base station to configure theoperation of the user equipment according to the information and theheight threshold.

It is to be noted that the method embodiment described hereincorresponds to the device embodiment at the user equipment sidedescribed above with reference to FIG. 24, and for the content that isnot described in detail herein, reference may be made to the descriptionat the corresponding part above, which is not repeated here.

In addition, it is to be understood that the flowcharts shown in FIG. 25and FIG. 26 described above are merely exemplary rather thanrestrictive, and those skilled in the art may modify the illustratedprocessing flow examples according to the principles of the presentdisclosure. For example, various steps in the embodiment are added,deleted, modified, combined, and the like, and all of such modificationsare considered to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

According to the above second embodiment of the present disclosure, theoperation mode of the user equipment is configured or the operation in acorresponding operation mode is performed based on the heightinformation and the height threshold for the user equipment, whichfacilitates optimizing related operations in the UAV communicationscenario (for example, resource allocation, interference coordinationand the like).

3. Third Embodiment (Resource Allocation Based on a Height Threshold)

As described above, for a UAV before being taken-off or having a lowflight height, the UAV is similar to an ordinary user equipment on theground, so that the UAV may be regarded as an ordinary user equipment,and resource allocation is performed with an existing resourceallocation scheme. However, in a case that the flight height of the UAVis high, the existing resource allocation scheme may not meet therequirement of the communication scenario. For example, there areproblems such as low resource utilization and large interference.Therefore, there is a need to provide a resource allocation scheme forthe UAV communication scenario.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a deviceat a base station side in a wireless communication system according tothe third embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 27, a device 1400 according to the embodiment mayinclude a height information acquisition unit 1402 and a resourceallocation unit 1404.

Specifically, the height information acquisition unit 1402 may beconfigured to acquire at least height information of one or more userequipments. Preferably, the height information of the user equipment maybe acquired from a newly added MAC CE, uplink control information (UCI),channel status information (CSI), or a measurement report from the userequipment (a measurement result reported based on a measurementconfiguration of a base station).

For the manner of generating the measurement report including a currentheight of the user equipment based on the measurement configuration ofthe base station, reference may be made to the above relateddescriptions in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, which isnot repeated here.

For carrying height information by using UCI, one or more bits may beadded to the existing UCI format. In this way, in a case that the userequipment issues an uplink scheduling request to the base station, theheight information of the user equipment may be transmitted to the basestation together, for the base station to perform more accurate resourcescheduling. Preferably, as an example, in order to reduce thetransmission load on the PUCCH, the user equipment may first quantizeits current height, and look up a table according to a quantizationresult to obtain corresponding bit information indicating the currentheight. In this way, the height information acquisition unit 1402 at thebase station side may look up the table according to the received bitinformation, to determine the current height of the user equipment.

On the other hand, a high flight height indicates a large path loss andthus a bad channel quality. That is, in fact, there is a certaincorrelation between the flight height and the channel status informationCSI. Therefore, the height information acquisition unit 1402 at the basestation side may also determine the current height of the user equipmentby, for example, looking up the table according to the received CSI.

In addition, preferably, in order to reduce the communication load andthe processing load, the user equipment may also be configured to reportthe height information only in a case that its current height isdetermined to be greater than a certain threshold (for example, asmallest height threshold), and thus the current resource allocationmanner cannot meet its communication requirement.

It is to be understood that the height information acquiring mannergiven above is only a preferred example rather than a limitation, andthose skilled in the art may also acquire height information of the userequipment with other methods in the field, such as the base stationdirectly locating the user equipment by a triangulation technology orthe like, which is not specifically limited here.

The resource allocation unit 1404 may be configured to perform resourceallocation for each user equipment based on height information and aheight threshold for the user equipment.

Preferably, the device 1400 may further include a resource allocationinformation generation unit 1406, which may be configured to generateinformation including an allocated time-frequency resource to betransmitted to the user equipment. Preferably, the resource allocationinformation may be included in uplink grant signaling (UL grant) ordownlink control information (DCI), to be transmitted to the userequipment.

The resource allocation unit 1404 may be configured to switch, for eachuser equipment, between a traditional resource allocation manner and aheight-based resource allocation manner based on a relationship betweena current height of the user equipment and a smallest height thresholdfor the user equipment. Specifically, if the current height is higherthan the smallest height threshold, the resource allocation is performedin the height-based resource allocation manner; if the current height islower than or equal to the smallest height threshold, the UAV may beregarded as an ordinary user equipment, and the resource allocation isperformed in the traditional resource allocation manner.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing an example of a signaling interactionprocess of a resource allocation scheme according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 28, in a case that the user equipment UAV needs toperform resource scheduling, the user equipment UAV transmits an uplinkscheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the basestation BS, and reports its height information. After receiving suchinformation, the base station BS allocates a time-frequency resource forthe user equipment based on the height information and the heightthreshold for the user equipment, and notifies the user equipment UAV ofthe allocated resource by using the UL grant signaling. Then, the userequipment UAV may perform data transmission on the time-frequencyresource allocated by the base station.

As an example, in the case of performing resource allocation in theheight-based resource allocation manner, the resource allocation unit1404 may be configured to determine a height interval in which the userequipment is located according to a relationship between the currentheight and the one or more height thresholds, and perform resourceallocation to the user equipment according to the height interval inwhich the user equipment is located.

However, it is a rough resource allocation manner that the resourceallocation is performed based only on the height interval in which theuser equipment is located. Since the base station may generally acquiremore information related to the user equipment within its coverage, moreaccurate resource allocation may be performed.

Preferably, the resource allocation unit 1404 may be configured toallocate the same or different time-frequency resources to the userequipments in the same height interval, according to assistance(auxiliary) information.

As an example, for two user equipments in the same height interval,resource allocation may be performed according to information related toa horizontal distance between the two user equipments. Detaileddescription is made in conjunction with FIG. 29, which is a schematicdiagram showing an example of a resource allocation scheme according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 29, the user equipments UAV5 and UAV6 are located inthe same height interval, and the user equipments UAV3 and UAV4 arelocated in the same height interval. The UAV5 and the UAV6, with a greathorizontal distance and thus a small interference, are allocated withthe same resource 1 to improve resource utilization. The UAV3 and UAV4,with a small horizontal distance and thus a strong interference, areallocated with different resources 2 and 3 to avoid interference.

It is to be understood that the manner of performing accurate resourceallocation further based on the horizontal distance as the assistanceinformation is only an example. For example, resource allocation mayalso be performed according to other interference related information orthe like, which is not described in detail herein.

Moreover, preferably, the resource allocation unit 1404 may beconfigured to allocate, for different user equipments in differentheight intervals, the same or different time-frequency resourcesaccording to a distance between height intervals in which these userequipments are respectively located.

As shown in FIG. 29, for example, if it is determined that the distancebetween the height intervals of the two user equipments is large (forexample, greater than a predetermined threshold), in order to improveresource utilization, it may be considered to allocate the sametime-frequency resource to the two user equipments (for example, asshown in FIG. 29, the user equipments UAV1 and UAV5 are all allocatedwith a resource 1). On the other hand, if the distance between theheight intervals of the two user equipments is not too large (forexample, less than a predetermined threshold), it is required to performmore accurate resource allocation according to further information.

It may be understood that, in actual resource allocation, in addition toconsidering the essential height information, the base station mayperform comprehensive consideration according to information of multipleaspects that it knows to optimize the resource allocation.

As another preferred example, the resource allocation unit 1404 may befurther configured to acquire three-dimensional position information ofthe user equipment and perform resource allocation according to thethree-dimensional position information of the user equipment.

In particular, the resource allocation unit 1404 may be configured toperform resource allocation according to a distance betweenthree-dimensional positions of the user equipments. For example, if adistance between the three-dimensional positions of the two userequipments is large (higher than a predetermined threshold), it may beconsidered to allocate the same resource to the two user equipments toimprove resource utilization. If the distance between thethree-dimensional positions of the two user equipments is small (lessthan a predetermined threshold), it is required to allocate differenttime-frequency resources to the two user equipments to reduceinterference.

FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the resourceallocation scheme. As shown in FIG. 30, in a case that the resourceallocation is performed, a more accurate resource allocation may beperformed by considering the three-dimensional position information ofthe user equipment, thereby facilitating improving the resourceutilization and reducing the interference. In this case, it is onlyrequired to determine whether the height of the user equipment is higherthan the smallest height threshold to select an appropriate resourceallocation scheme (a traditional resource allocation scheme or aheight-based resource allocation scheme), and perform more accurateresource allocation by considering the relative distance between the twouser equipments, regardless of the relationship between the height ofthe user equipment and the various height thresholds. It can be seenthat this scheme is also applicable in the case where there is only oneheight threshold.

In addition, in a case that the resource allocation is performed, theresource allocation may also be optimized based on interferencecoordination with other base stations.

Preferably, the resource allocation unit 1404 may be configured tooptimize resource allocation by performing interference coordinationwith an interfering base station according to interference reportinformation from the user equipment.

With reference to FIG. 5 again, an example of the communication scenariois described. As shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the unmanned aerialvehicle UAV 3 flies from the coverage of the base station BS1 to thecoverage of the base station BS2 while maintaining the flight heightunchanged, but no handover occurs. In this case, the communication ofthe unmanned aerial vehicle UAV 3 on the time-frequency resourceallocated by the base station BS1 may be interfered by the communicationwithin the coverage of the base station BS2. Therefore, the unmannedaerial vehicle UAV 3 may report its interference information to the basestation BS1, so that the base station BS1 may optimize the resourceallocation to the unmanned aerial vehicle UAV 3 by performinginterference coordination with the base station BS2.

FIG. 31A is a flowchart showing a signaling interaction process in theexample of the communication scenario.

As shown in FIG. 31A, in a case that the user equipment UAV3 determinesthat the current interference is too large and thus affects itscommunication performance, the user equipment UAV3 reports theinterference related information to the base station BS1. As an example,the user equipment UAV3 may determine an interfering cell according to ameasurement result of a cell specific reference signal (CRS), andinclude ID information of the interfering cell in an interferencecoordination request and transmit it to the base station BS1. Afterreceiving the interference coordination request, the base station BS1performs interference coordination with the base station BS2 that causesthe interference, and adjusts the resource allocation result for theuser equipment UAV3 according to an interference coordination result.

On the other hand, in a case that direct communication between the basestation BS1 and the base station BS2 is impossible, the interferencecoordination request may be forwarded via the core network (for example,MME), and the base station BS2 may adjust the resource allocation withinits coverage after receiving the interference coordination request toreduce interference to the user equipment UAV3. FIG. 31B shows thesignaling interaction process in this case.

Moreover, preferably, the device 1400 may also assist in resourceallocation in the case of a cell handover. Specifically, the device 1400may directly or indirectly forward the acquired height information ofthe user equipment to a handover target base station in response to ahandover request from the user equipment, for the handover target basestation to perform resource allocation for the user equipment.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a signaling interaction process forassisting resource allocation in a case of an X2-based handover. Asshown in FIG. 32, in the case of X2-based handover, a source cell and atarget cell may communicate with each other directly, so that the sourcecell transmits the height information of the user equipment to thetarget cell in a handover request. The target cell may perform resourceallocation according to the received height information and deliver theallocated resource to the user equipment.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing a signaling interaction process forassisting resource allocation in a case of an S1-based handover. Asshown in FIG. 33, in the case of S1-based handover, the source cell andthe target cell cannot directly communicate with each other, so that thesource cell may transmit the height information of the user equipment tothe core network (for example, the MME) by using, for example, handoverrequired signaling, and the MME may in turn forward the heightinformation to the target cell by using a handover request. Therefore,the target cell may perform resource allocation according to thereceived height information and deliver the allocated resource to theuser equipment.

It is to be noted that although the signaling interaction in a case ofhandover is described above with reference to the flowcharts shown inFIGS. 32 and 33, this is given only to explain the principles of thepresent disclosure, where the illustrations and description not relatedto the technology of the present disclosure are omitted to avoidblurring, and those skilled in the art may make appropriatemodifications to the signaling interaction process according to theprinciples of the present disclosure.

In addition, it is also to be noted that the device 1400 described withreference to FIG. 27 may be implemented at a chip level, or may beimplemented at a device level by including other peripheral components.For example, the device 1400 may also operate as the base stationitself, and may also include a communication unit (which is optional andindicated by a dashed box) for performing communication. For example,the communication unit may be used to perform communication with theuser equipment, communication with the other base station, communicationwith the core network, and the like. In addition, it is to be furthernoted that the specific implementation of the communication unit is notlimited here, and it may include one or more communication interface(s)for realizing communication with different external devices.

3-2. Configuration Example at a User Equipment Side

The base station may only allocate the time-frequency resource to a userequipment within its coverage, but cannot perform resource schedulingfor a user equipment out of its coverage. The resource allocationschemes according to the present disclosure are described below for thein-coverage user equipment and the out-of-coverage user equipment,respectively.

(3-2-1. Configuration Example of an In-Coverage User Equipment)

FIG. 34 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a deviceat a user equipment side in a wireless communication system according tothe third embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 34, a device 1500 according to the embodiment mayinclude a report information generation unit 1502 and a control unit1504.

Specifically, the report information generation unit 1502 may beconfigured to generate report information including at least heightinformation of the user equipment, where the report information is to besent to the base station, for the base station to perform resourceallocation based on the height information and the one or more heightthresholds. As an example, the report information may be included in themeasurement report, uplink control information, or channel statusinformation.

Preferably, the report information generation unit 1502 may be furtherconfigured to transmit the report information to the base station in acase that the current height of the user equipment is higher than thesmallest height threshold to reduce signaling overhead and processingoverhead.

Preferably, the report information may also include three-dimensionalposition information of the user equipment, rather than merely theheight information, for the base station to perform more accurateresource allocation.

Preferably, the report information generation unit 1502 is furtherconfigured to generate interference report information related tointerference in a case that the interference to the user equipmentexceeds a predetermined threshold, wherein the interference reportinformation is to be sent to the base station for the base station tooptimize resource allocation to the user equipment by performinginterference coordination with an interfering base station.

For a detailed description of the report information, reference may bemade to the description at the corresponding part in the aboveembodiment of the base station side, which is not repeated here.

The control unit 1504 may be configured to control the user equipment toperform communication on a corresponding time-frequency resourceaccording to a resource allocation result from the base station.Preferably, the control unit 1504 may acquire the resource allocationresult from the uplink scheduling grant signaling UL grant or thedownlink control information DCI from the base station.

Moreover, preferably, the device 1500 may further include a handoverrequest unit 1506, which may be configured to generate a handoverrequest in response to a predetermined triggering event, where thehandover request is to be sent to the base station, so that the basestation directly or indirectly forward the height information of theuser equipment to a handover target base station according to thehandover request, for the handover target base station to performresource allocation for the user equipment.

It is to be noted that the configuration example of the in-coverage userequipment described here corresponds to the configuration example at thebase station side described above with reference to FIGS. 27 to 33, andfor the content which is not described in detail here, reference may bemade to the description at the corresponding part above, which is notrepeated here.

(3-2-2. Configuration Example of an Out-of-Coverage User Equipment)

FIG. 35 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of thedevice at a user equipment side in a wireless communication systemaccording to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 35, a device 1600 according to the embodiment mayinclude a selection unit 1602 and a control unit 1604.

The selection unit 1602 may be configured to select a time-frequencyresource from a corresponding one of one or more pre-configured resourcepools according to at least a current height of the user equipment andone or more height thresholds.

Since the out-of-coverage user equipment is not subjected to theresource scheduling of the base station, the user equipment may selectby itself a time frequency resource from a pre-configured resource poolaccording to, for example, a height threshold pre-configured or receivedfrom other user equipment and the current height.

As an example, one or more resource pools are obtained by dividing basedon one or more height thresholds. FIG. 36 is a schematic diagram showingan example of a resource pool division manner based on a heightinterval.

As shown in FIG. 36, the pre-configured resource pool is mapped to acorresponding height interval according to the height intervals dividedbased on the respective height thresholds. Preferably, for two heightintervals that are far apart from each other, they may be mapped to thesame resource pool to improve resource utilization. For example, asshown in FIG. 36, the uppermost height interval and the lowermost heightinterval may share a same resource pool 1.

In this case, the selection unit 1602 may be configured to firstdetermine a height interval in which the user equipment is located, andthen select a time-frequency resource from a corresponding resource poolaccording to a correspondence between the height intervals and theresource pools.

It may be understood that this resource pool division manner is arelatively simple one for the case that there are multiple heightthresholds. It may be not applicable for a case that there is only oneheight threshold. Therefore, more generally, it may be considered todivide resource pools based on a three-dimensional space. FIG. 37 is aschematic diagram showing an example of a resource pool division mannerbased on a three-dimensional space.

As shown in FIG. 37, an entire space above the smallest height thresholdis divided into multiple three-dimensional spaces in, for example, acubic shape, and each three-dimensional space may correspond to apre-configured resource pool. Preferably, two three-dimensional spacesthat are far apart from each other (for example, a three-dimensionaldistance between the spaces is greater than a predetermined threshold)may be mapped to a same resource pool to improve resource utilization,as shown in FIG. 37.

It is to be noted that although FIG. 37 shows dividing the resourcepools in a cubic shape, it is to be understood that this is merelyexemplary rather than restrictive, and the division may also beperformed in other shapes than a cubic shape (for example, a sphere).

In addition, it is to be noted that the volume of each three-dimensionalspace (for example, a side length of a cube, a radius of a sphere, andthe like) may be pre-configured according to actual conditions, which isnot specifically limited herein.

In this case, the selection unit 1602 may be configured to determine athree-dimensional space in which the user equipment is located accordingto a current three-dimensional position of the user equipment, andselect a time-frequency resource from a corresponding resource poolaccording to a correspondence between the three-dimensional spaces andthe resource pools.

In a case that a time-frequency resource is selected from acorresponding resource pool, the selection unit 1602 may randomly selectthe time-frequency resource from the corresponding resource pool, butthere is a possibility that a conflict occurs. Alternatively, theselection unit 1602 may also perform listening before the selection,that is, to determine whether the time-frequency resource is occupied byanother user equipment, to reduce the occurrence of conflicts, which mayincrease power consumption of the user equipment.

Moreover, preferably, the occurrence of such conflicts may also beavoided by reasonably configuring the resource pool. For example, if thedensity of UAVs in a space area is large, a large resource pool may beallocated to the space area to reduce conflict.

Preferably, the device 1600 may also include a memory 1606 that maystore information related to one or more resource pools. For example,the memory 1606 may store the pre-configured height threshold, acorrespondence between the height interval and the resource pool, acorrespondence between the three-dimensional space and the resourcepool, and the like, so that the selection unit 1602 selects atime-frequency resource according to position information of the userequipment by reading related information from the memory 1606.

It is to be noted that the device 1500 described above with reference toFIG. 34 and the device 1600 described above with reference to FIG. 35may be implemented at a chip level, or may be implemented at a devicelevel by including other peripheral components. For example, the devices1500 and 1600 may also operate as the user equipment itself, and mayalso include a communication unit (which is optional and indicated by adashed box) for performing communication. For example, the communicationunit may be used to perform communication with the base station,communication with the other user equipment, and the like. In addition,it is to be further noted that the specific implementation of thecommunicating unit is not limited here, and it may include one or morecommunication interface(s) for realizing communication with differentexternal devices.

It is to be noted that the various functional units described above withreference to FIGS. 27, 34, and 35 are merely logical modules dividedaccording to the specific functions thereof, and are not intended tolimit the specific implementations. In the actual implementation, thefunctional units and modules may be implemented as separated physicalentities, or may be implemented by a single entity (e.g., a processor(CPU, DSP or the like), an integrated circuit or the like).

In addition, it is to be noted that although the device embodiments(including the device at a base station side and the device at a userequipment side) of the present disclosure are described above withreference to the drawings, they are exemplary rather than restrictive.Those skilled in the art may modify the shown examples of the functionalconfigurations according to the principles of the present disclosure.For example, various functional modules in the embodiment may be added,deleted, modified, combined or the like, and all of such modificationsare considered to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

3-3. Method Embodiment

Corresponding to the above device embodiments, method embodiments arefurther provided according to the present disclosure below.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a basestation side in a wireless communication system according to the thirdembodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 38, the method according to the embodiment starts atstep S1701. In step S1701, at least height information of each of one ormore user equipments is acquired.

Then, the method proceeds to step S1702. In step S1702, resourceallocation is performed for each user equipment based on at least heightinformation of the user equipment and one or more height thresholds forthe user equipment.

It is to be noted that the method embodiment described hereincorresponds to the device embodiment at the base station side describedabove with reference to FIG. 27, and for content which are not describedin detail here, reference may be made to the above description at thecorresponding part, which is not repeated here.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method at a userequipment side in a wireless communication system according to the thirdembodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 39, the method according to the embodiment starts atstep S1801. In step S1801, report information including at least heightinformation of the user equipment is generated, and the reportinformation is to be sent to the base station for the base station toperform resource allocation based on the height information and the oneor more height thresholds.

Then, the method proceeds to step S1802. In step S1802, according to aresource allocation result of the base station, the user equipment iscontrolled to perform communication on a corresponding time-frequencyresource.

It is to be noted that the method embodiment described hereincorresponds to the embodiment of the in-coverage user equipmentdescribed above with reference to FIG. 34, and for content which is notdescribed in detail here, reference may be made to the above descriptionat the corresponding part, which is not repeated here.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing another process example of the method ata user equipment side in a wireless communication system according tothe third embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 40, the method according to the embodiment starts atstep S1901. In step S1901, a time-frequency resource is selected from acorresponding one of one or more pre-configured resource pools accordingto at least a current height of the user equipment and one or moreheight thresholds.

Then, the method proceeds to step S1902. In step S1902, the userequipment is controlled to perform communication on the selectedtime-frequency resource.

It is to be noted that the method embodiment described hereincorresponds to the embodiment of the out-of-coverage user equipmentdescribed above with reference to FIG. 35, and for content which is notdescribed in detail here, reference may be made to the above descriptionat the corresponding part, which is not repeated here.

In addition, it is to be understood that the above flow charts shown inFIGS. 38 to 40 are exemplary rather than restrictive. Those skilled inthe art may modify the illustrated processing flow examples according tothe principles of the present disclosure. For example, various steps inthe embodiment may be added, deleted, modified, combined or the like,and all of such modifications are considered to fall within the scope ofthe present disclosure.

According to the third embodiment of the present disclosure describedabove, the resource allocation may be performed based on the heightinformation and the height threshold for the user equipment, which mayoptimize the resource allocation in the UAV communication scenario,thereby improving the resource utilization and reducing theinterference.

Although the first to third embodiments of the present disclosure areseparately described above for ease of understanding, this does not meanthat these embodiments are completely independent or mutually exclusivefrom each other. In practice, according to actual needs, those skilledin the art may make appropriate modifications or combinations to theabove embodiments according to the principles of the present disclosure,and all of these modifications or combinations are considered to fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

It is to be understood that the storage medium and themachine-executable instructions in a program product according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may be configured to performmethods corresponding to the above device embodiments, and thus for thecontent which is not described in detail here, reference may be made tothe above description at a corresponding part, which is not repeatedhere.

Accordingly, a storage medium for carrying the program product whichincludes the machine-readable instruction codes is further providedaccording to the present disclosure. The storage medium includes, but isnot limited to, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk,a memory card, a memory rod and the like.

4. Computing Device for Implementing the Embodiments of the Device andthe Method According to the Present Disclosure

In addition, it is further to be noted that the above-described seriesof processing and devices may also be implemented by software and/orfirmware. In the case of implementation in software and/or firmware, aprogram constituting the software is installed from a storage medium ora network to a computer with a dedicated hardware structure, e.g., ageneral purpose personal computer 2000 illustrated in FIG. 41, which mayperform various functions when various programs are installed thereon.FIG. 41 is a block diagram showing an exemplary structure of a personalcomputer that may be used as an information processing device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In FIG. 41, a central processing unit (CPU) 2001 executes variousprocesses according to the program stored in a read only memory (ROM)2002 or the program loaded from the storage section 2008 to a randomaccess memory (RAM) 2003. In the RAM 2003, the data required by CPU 2001to execute various processing is also stored as necessary.

The CPU 2001, the ROM 2002 and the RAM 2003 are connected with eachother via a bus 2004. An input/output interface 2005 is also connectedto the bus 2004.

The following sections are connected to the input/output interface 2005:an input section 2006 including a keyboard, a mouse and the like; anoutput section 2007 including a display such as a cathode ray tube(CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD) and the like, a loudspeaker, andthe like; a memory section 2008 including a hard disc and the like; anda communication section 2009 including a network interface card such asa LAN card, a modem and the like. The communication section 2009performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet.

A driver 2010 may also be connected to the input/output interface 2005as needed. A removable medium 2011, e.g., a magnetic disk, an opticaldisk, an magneto optical disk, a semiconductor memory, etc., may beinstalled on the driver 2010 as needed so that a computer programfetched therefrom may be installed into the storage section 2008 asneeded.

In the case that the above series of processes are performed insoftware, a program constituting the software is installed from anetwork, e.g., the Internet, or a storage medium, e.g., the removablemedium 2011.

It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the storagemedium is not limited to the removable medium 2011 shown in FIG. 41 inwhich the program is stored and which is distributed separately from thedevice so as to provide the program to the user. The removable medium2011, for example, may include a magnetic disk including a Floppy Disk(registered trademark); an optical disk including a Compact Disk ReadOnly Memory (CD-ROM) and a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD); amagneto-optical disk including a MiniDisc (MD) (registered trademark);and a semiconductor memory. Alternatively, the storage medium may be aROM 2002, a hard disk included in the storage section 2008, etc., whichhas a program stored therein and is distributed to the user along with adevice in which it is incorporated.

5. Application Examples of the Technology According to the PresentDisclosure

The technology of the present disclosure may be applied to variousproducts. For example, the base station described in the presentdisclosure may be realized as an evolved Node B (eNB) of any type, suchas a macro eNB and a small eNB. The small eNB may be an eNB such as apico eNB, a micro eNB and a home (femto) eNB that covers a cell smallerthan a macro cell. Alternatively, the base station may also beimplemented as a base station of any other type, such as a NodeB and abase transceiver station (BTS). The base station may include a main body(that is also referred to as a base station device) configured tocontrol wireless communication, and one or more remote radio heads (RRH)disposed in a different place from the main body. In addition, varioustypes of terminals, which will be described below, may each operate asthe base station by temporarily or semi-persistently executing a basestation function.

Application examples according to the present disclosure are describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 42 to 43.

First Application Example

FIG. 42 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematicconfiguration of an eNB to which the technology of the presentdisclosure may be applied. An eNB 2200 includes one or more antennas2210 and a base station device 2220. The base station device 2220 andeach of the antennas 2210 may be connected with each other via an RFcable.

Each of the antennas 2210 includes one or more antenna elements (such asmultiple antenna elements included in a multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) antenna), and is used for transmitting and receiving a radiosignal by the base station device 2220. The eNB 2200 may include themultiple antennas 2210, as shown in FIG. 42. For example, the multipleantennas 2210 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used bythe eNB 2200. Although FIG. 42 illustrates an example in which the eNB2200 includes multiple antennas 2210, the eNB 2200 may also include asingle antenna 2210.

The base station device 2220 includes a controller 2221, a memory 2222,a network interface 2223, and a wireless communication interface 2225.

The controller 2221 may be a CPU or a DSP and control various functionsof higher layers of the base station device 2220. For example, thecontroller 2221 generates a data packet based on data in a signalprocessed by the wireless communication interface 2225, and transfersthe generated packet via a network interface 2223. The controller 2221may bundle data from multiple baseband processors to generate bundledpacket, and transfer the generated bundled packet. The controller 2221may have logical functions of performing control such as radio resourcecontrol, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control,and scheduling. The control may be performed in conjunction with anadjacent eNB or a core network node. The memory 2222 includes RAM andROM, and stores a program that is executed by the controller 2221, andvarious types of control data (such as a terminal list, transmissionpower data, and scheduling data).

The network interface 2223 is a communication interface for connectingthe base station device 2220 to a core network 2224. The controller 2221may communicate with a core network node or another eNB via the networkinterface 2223. In that case, the eNB 2200 and the core network node orthe other eNB may be connected to each other through a logical interface(such as an S1 interface and an X2 interface). The network interface2223 may also be a wired communication interface or a wirelesscommunication interface for radio backhaul. If the network interface2223 is a wireless communication interface, it may use a higherfrequency band for wireless communication than a frequency band used bythe wireless communication interface 2225.

The wireless communication interface 2225 supports any cellularcommunication scheme (such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) andLTE-Advanced), and provides wireless connection to a terminal positionedin a cell of the eNB 2200 via the antenna 2210. The wirelesscommunication interface 2225 may typically include, for example, a baseband (BB) processor 2226 and an RF circuit 2227. The BB processor 2226may perform, for example, coding/decoding, modulation/demodulation andmultiplexing/de-multiplexing, and perform various types of signalprocesses of the layers (for example L1, media access control (MAC),radio link control (RLC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)).Instead of the controller 2221, the BB processor 2226 may have a part orall of the above-described logical functions. The BB processor 2226 maybe a memory that stores the communication control program, or a modulethat includes a processor and related circuitry configured to performthe program. In this way, the function of the BB processor 2226 may bechanged when the programs are updated. The module may be a card or ablade that is inserted into a slot of the base station device 2220.Alternatively, the module may be a chip that is mounted on the card orthe blade. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 2227 may include, for example, afrequency mixer, a filter and an amplifier, and transmit and receive aradio signal via the antenna 2210.

As shown in FIG. 42, the wireless communication interface 2225 mayinclude multiple BB processors 2226. For example, multiple BB processors2226 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the eNB2200. As shown in FIG. 42, the wireless communication interface 2225 mayinclude multiple RF circuits 2227. For example, the multiple RF circuits2227 may be compatible with multiple antenna elements. Although anexample in which the wireless communication interface 2225 includesmultiple BB processors 2226 and multiple RF circuits 2227 is shown inFIG. 22, the wireless communication interface 2225 may also include asingle BB processor 2226 or a single RF circuit 2227.

Second Application Example

FIG. 43 is a block diagram showing a second example of a schematicconfiguration of an eNB to which the technology according to the presentdisclosure may be applied. An eNB 2330 includes one or more antennas2340, a base station device 2350 and an RRH 2360. Each antenna 2340 andthe RRH 2360 may be connected to each other via an RF cable. The basestation device 2350 and the RRH 2360 may be connected to each other viaa high-speed line such as a fiber cable.

Each of the antennas 2340 includes one or more antenna elements (such asthe multiple antenna elements included in the MIMO antenna), and is usedfor transmitting and receiving the radio signal by the RRH 2360. Asshown in FIG. 43, the eNB 2330 may include multiple antennas 2340. Forexample, the multiple antennas 2340 may be compatible with multiplefrequency bands used by the eNB 2330. Although an example in which theeNB 2330 includes multiple antennas 2340 is shown in FIG. 43, the eNB2330 may also include a single antenna 2340.

The base station device 2350 includes a controller 2351, a memory 2352,a network interface 2353, a wireless communication interface 2355, and aconnection interface 2357. The controller 2351, the memory 2352, and thenetwork interface 2353 are the same as the controller 2221, the memory2222, and the network interface 2223 described with reference to FIG.42.

The wireless communication interface 2355 supports any cellularcommunication solution (such as LTE and LTE-advanced), and provideswireless communication with a terminal located in a sector correspondingto the RRH 2360 via the RRH 2360 and the antenna 2340. The wirelesscommunication interface 2355 may typically include, for example, a BBprocessor 2356. Other than connecting to an RF circuit 2364 of the RRH2360 via the connection interface 2357, the BB processor 2356 is thesame as the BB processor 2226 described with reference to FIG. 42. Asshow in FIG. 43, the wireless communication interface 2355 may includemultiple BB processors 2356. For example, the multiple BB processors2356 may be compatible with the multiple frequency bands used by the eNB2330. Although FIG. 43 illustrates an example in which the wirelesscommunication interface 2355 includes multiple BB processors 2356, thewireless communication interface 2355 may also include a single BBprocessor 2356.

The connection interface 2357 is an interface for connecting the basestation device 2350 (the wireless communication interface 2355) to theRRH 2360. The connection interface 2357 may also be a communicationmodule for communication in the above-described high-speed line thatconnects the base station device 2350 (the wireless communicationinterface 2355) to the RRH 2360.

The RRH 2360 includes a connection interface 2361 and a wirelesscommunication interface 2363.

The connection interface 2361 is an interface for connecting the RRH2360 (the wireless communication interface 2363) to the base stationdevice 2350. The connection interface 2361 may also be a communicationmodule for the communication in the above high-speed line.

The wireless communication interface 2363 transmits and receives a radiosignal via the antenna 2340. The wireless communication interface 2363may generally include, for example, the RF circuit 2364. The RF circuit2364 may include, for example, a frequency mixer, a filter and anamplifier, and transmit and receive a radio signal via the antenna 2340.The wireless communication interface 2363 may include multiple RFcircuits 2364, as shown in FIG. 43. For example, the multiple RFcircuits 2364 may support multiple antenna elements. Although FIG. 43illustrates the example in which the wireless communication interface2363 includes the multiple RF circuits 2364, the wireless communicationinterface 2363 may also include a single RF circuit 2364.

In the eNB 2200 shown in FIG. 42 and the eNB 2330 shown in FIG. 43, thecommunication unit in the above device at a base station side describedin the first to three embodiments may be implemented by the wirelesscommunication interface 2225 and the wireless communication interface2355 and/or the wireless communication interface 2363. At least part ofthe functions of the above device at a base station side described inthe first to three embodiments may also be realized by the controller2221 and the controller 2351.

Preferred embodiments of the disclosure have been described above withreference to the drawings, but the disclosure is not limited to theabove examples of course. Those skilled in the art may make variouschanges and modifications within the scope of the appended claims, andit is to be understood that such changes and modifications naturallyfall within the technical scope of the present disclosure.

For example, elements shown in dashed boxes in the functional blockdiagrams shown in the drawings indicate that the functional units areoptional in the respective device, and the various optional functionalunits may be combined in a suitable manner to achieve the desiredfunction.

For example, multiple functions of one unit in the above embodiment maybe realized by separate devices. Alternatively, multiple functionsimplemented by multiple units in the above embodiments may berespectively implemented by separate devices. Furthermore, one of theabove functions may be implemented by multiple units. Needless to say,such configurations are included in the technical scope of the presentdisclosure.

In the specification, steps described in the flowchart include not onlythe processing performed chronologically, but also the processingperformed in parallel or individually rather than chronologically.Further, even in the steps processed chronically, without saying, theorder may be appropriately changed.

Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been describedin detail, it is to be understood that various changes, substitutionsand alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the term“include”, “comprise” or any variant thereof in the embodiments of thepresent disclosure is intended to encompass nonexclusive inclusion, sothat a process, a method, an article or a device including a series ofelements includes not only those elements but also other elements thatare not expressively listed or an element) inherent to the process, themethod, the article or the device. The elements defined by the statement“comprising one . . . ” do not exclude that there are other identicalelements in the process, method, article, or device that includes theelements, if not specifically limited otherwise.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A device configured to operate as a basestation in a wireless communication system, the device comprisingprocessing circuitry configured to: based on each of base stationrelated information, cell related information and user equipment relatedinformation, determine one or more cell-specific height thresholds for auser equipment, according to the user equipment related information,determine whether the user equipment has Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)communication capability; and if it is determined that the userequipment has the UAV communication capability, request a core networkequipment to confirm whether the user equipment is allowed to use acurrent network.
 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to: if it is confirmed thatthe user equipment is allowed to use the current network, determine theone or more cell-specific height thresholds for the user equipment. 3.The device according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to: if it is determined that the user equipment hasthe UAV communication capability, request the core network equipment toconfirm whether the user equipment is allowed to use the current networkin response to an attach request from the user equipment.
 4. The deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to: generate configuration information comprising the one ormore cell-specific height thresholds, the configuration informationbeing to be sent to the user equipment, and wherein: the configurationinformation is comprised in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layersignaling, the RRC layer signaling comprising a system broadcastmessage, an RRC connection establishment message or an RRC connectionreconfiguration message; or the configuration information is comprisedin a physical layer signaling, the physical layer signaling comprisingdownlink control information; or the configuration information iscomprised in a Media Access Control (MAC) layer signaling, the MAC layersignaling comprising a MAC control element.
 5. The device according toclaim 1, wherein the one or more cell-specific height thresholds for theuser equipment are determined based on base stations and/or cells. 6.The device according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to: acquire auxiliary information fed back by theuser equipment and other user equipment as the user equipment relatedinformation, the auxiliary information comprising one or more ofcapability information, a desired flight height, and a desired flightspeed.
 7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to: generate measurement configurationinformation for each of the user equipment and other user equipment, sothat the user equipment and the other user equipment perform measurementand reporting periodically, non-periodically or based on eventtriggering according to the measurement configuration information; andbased on a measurement report result from the user equipment or theother user equipment, determine and/or update the one or morecell-specific height thresholds, the measurement report resultcomprising one or more of position information, height information,speed information, electric quantity information and a measurementresult for a neighboring cell.
 8. The device according to claim 7,wherein the measurement configuration information is comprised in aphysical layer signaling, a MAC layer signaling and/or an RRC layersignaling.
 9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to: determine and/or update the one ormore cell-specific height thresholds further based on environmentalinformation and/or information interaction with other base stations. 10.A device configured to be located within a user equipment in a wirelesscommunication system, the device comprising processing circuitryconfigured to: based on configuration information from a base station,acquire one or more cell-specific height thresholds for the userequipment in which the device is located, wherein the one or morecell-specific height thresholds are determined by the base station basedon each of base station related information, cell related informationand user equipment related information, and feed back informationrelated to the user equipment, for the base station to determine the oneor more cell-specific height thresholds and for the base station todetermine whether the user equipment has UAV communication capability;and wherein the inquiry from the base station comprises a capabilityinquiry request from the base station, wherein the information relatedto the user equipment comprises capability information of the userequipment; and wherein the information related to the user equipmentcomprises category information, the category information having a valueof UECategory 13 indicating that the user equipment is a UAV.
 11. Thedevice according to claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to: generate a request to be sent to the basestation, so that the base station requests, in a case that it isdetermined that the user equipment has the UAV communication capability,a core network equipment to confirm whether the user equipment isallowed to use a current network, and wherein the request comprises anattach request, the attach request comprising identity information ofthe user equipment.
 12. The device according to claim 11, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to: perform an attachingoperation to the current network according to a confirmation result ofthe core network equipment.
 13. The device according to claim 10,wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: according tomeasurement configuration information from the base station, performmeasurement and reporting periodically, non-periodically or based onevent triggering, for the base station to determine and/or update theone or more cell-specific height thresholds based on a measurementreport result.
 14. The device according to claim 10, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to: in response to a requestfrom other user equipment, determine and/or update one or morecell-specific height thresholds for the other user equipment based onthe configuration information.
 15. The device according to claim 14,wherein the request from the other user equipment comprises a resourcerequest of the other user equipment.
 16. The device according to claim14, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: inresponse to the request from other user equipment, forward theconfiguration information to the other user equipment.
 17. A deviceconfigured to be located within a user equipment in a wirelesscommunication system, the device comprising processing circuitryconfigured to: acquire one or more cell-specific height thresholds forthe user equipment, in which the device is located, based onconfiguration information received from a base station, wherein theconfiguration information from the base station comprises one or morecell-specific height thresholds determined by the base station based oneach of base station related information, cell related information anduser equipment related information.
 18. The device according to claim17, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: make arequest to a surrounding user equipment, so that the surrounding userequipment: determines and/or updates the one or more cell-specificheight thresholds for the user equipment based on the configurationinformation from the base station, and forwards the configurationinformation from the base station to the user equipment, and wherein therequest to the surrounding user equipment further comprises a resourcerequest of the user equipment.